We visited the Citadelles at Namur and Dinant over the last couple of days.  Whilst both do warrant a visit, they offer quite different experiences.

The citadelle in Namur is undoubtedly impressive and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring it over a couple of hours.  We were unsure beforehand how much of the citadelle we would be able to see without paying the entrance fee, so we started our walk from the street level in town, walking up the steps past the fabulous artwork called 'Searching for Utopia' (the turtle).  As it happens, we just kept going up and up, admiring the views from the edges down over the town, rivers and the river confluence.  Eventually we reached the visitor centre, but we still had access to the citadelle without paying anything, so kept going until we exited at the top.  I believe that the entrance fee is payable only if you wish to join a guided tour of the site, or a tour of the underground passageways, meaning the rest of the site is free to explore.

There is a lot of work going on in Namur currently, both to restore the citadelle walls and within the town itself, especially around the river confluence area where new buildings are going up and a new, modern, pedestrian bridge is being built.  Therefore it was hard to think of the town as being particularly scenic or pretty, however a grey, wet day in February is probably not the best time of year.

Dinant citadelle is beautifully set above the very pretty town, but cannot be seen to be as impressive as the one at Namur.  However the views across the water to the town, the church and the citadelle will take some beating, even in rainy February!!  Entrance to the citadelle is only via payment of an entrance fee (9.50 EUR).  There is a cable car running between the top and the town, but this is part of an enhanced citadelle entrance fee only (10.50 EUR inc entrance fee and cable car), so you can't just pay for the cable car to take a look at the view.  There are steps and paths up to the top though.

I enjoyed our visit to both citadelles and towns, but remain unconvinced on their worthiness as WHS to be honest.  Particularly as, with the exception of the UNESCO submission, I could find no information about the link between the sites on the Meuse River, so couldn't see how they connect together into a cohesive listing.