From the Haine valley to the Natural Park of the Hauts-Pays, the Mons region has various assets and a remarkable heritage. Steeped in history and shaped by human activity over millenia, it is also a land of art and culture, traditions, scientific adventures and exceptional natural sites.

This cultural and touristic melting pot offers great opportunities such as the Grand-Hornu where culture, tourism, technology and prospective melt into a contemporary project. This former coal mine representative of the Industrial Revolution was turned 2002 into the Museum of Contemporary Arts of the French speaking Community (MAC's) : an international magnet.

A few kilometers further, in Frameries, the old colliery «de crachet » is now a Scientific Adventures Park (the Pass), where all generations can discover and learn how the world is changing. And in Cambron-Casteau, Pairi Daiza is a unique zoological park with wonderful gardens.

Finally, with the Haine Valley, the Mons region is also the place to be for nature lovers. There are up to6 natural and ornithological reserves among which the Harchies-Hensies-Pommeroeul marshes, one of the largest reeds area in Wallonia. And don't forget the Natural Park of the Hauts-Pays lalong the French-Belgian border, with the famous « Caillou-qui- Bique », a « pointing stone », so dear to the poet Emile Verhaeren, its steep-sided valleys, forests, farms, castles and its diversified craftsmanship.