The world’s tallest ship lift (2002), raising or lowering gigantic ‘baths’ 73 vertical metres, is on a pharaonic scale, as was the €150 million it cost. Though you can watch the lift from outdoors, visits allow you to look down on the engine room, appreciate the construction via a 35-minute multilingual video, watch the action from the cafe, or take part in a quiz on Belgian genius. Boat trips take you through the lift, while a tourist train whizzes around the site.
Strépy-Thieu is just south of the Tournai–Brussels motorway, accessible on bus 30 from La Louvière.
