For one of the best industrial experience tours you'll find anywhere, don a hard hat, jump in the cage lift and descend through a pitch-black moment into the life of a 20th-century Belgian miner. The two-hour guided tour of Unesco-listed Blégny Mine starts with a 20-minute film (English subtitles) before setting off to soak up the sounds and smells of the pit.
For non-French speakers there's an audio guide, but it's well worth trying to understand the human guide too, or you risk missing some memorable demonstrations – and the two sets of information are complementary.
The mining museum fills you in on the bigger picture of coal and charcoal, while a playground and small zoo, as well as a tourist train, mean that there's plenty here to keep the family busy for much of the day. Note that the mine is at Trembleur not Blegny. Some (not all) route 67 buses pass within 300m between Liège Gare-Leopold (51 minutes) and Vise (22 minutes).
