While Belgium’s King Leopold II was playing colonial domination in Congo, his feisty Hungarian-born queen avoided the boredom of Brussels by moving to Spa and riding her horses across the Ardennes. The 1862 Napoleon III–style former hotel where she stayed, is now a minor museum. The stables include a series of horsey exhibits and an old forge, while the main building features old Spa water bottles and laquerware boxes produced as early souvenirs to sell to spa-goers.
It’s 500m west of the tourist office, opposite the short diagonal spur road that heads southwest to the train station.
