‘Liège is one of those cities where you linger.’ Whoups alias Océane Cornille (39) is an artist and dancer from Liège, the Walloon city on the Meuse, near Aachen and Maastricht. She works with organic forms and lets her movements influence her art and vice versa. Whoups transformed the skate park of Hasselt, made a mural for the town hall of Beringen and painted several murals in Liège, like la nageuse, a work of art of fish and a female swimmer in a round, blue sea on the Rue Saint Adalbert. ‘I studied at Saint-Luc, the art academy on the island in the Meuse’, she says. ‘Liège, Liège, is not big and not a city for love at first sight, but after a while you are absorbed by this city, by the atmosphere, the people and the friendliness. I also find Liège very open-minded, alternative and artistic, a city that really suits me for that reason.’
walls
Océane Cornille: ‘There are a few of my murals on display in Liège, one of them is on the Montagne Sainte Walburge at No. 94. I painted it two years ago on two gray walls in the street, designed in this way. seem to be one whole. A work with a white background and with lots of color and movement. My first, much smaller mural from a long, long time ago has also been preserved, inside the wall in the Liège tapas bar La Parra.’
La Parrabar à Tapas, Rue Chéravoie 14
Windows
‘The dashi and tuna ramen is great, I usually have it, but all the bowls in the Ramen Bar, a cheerful restaurant in a narrow street in the center, are delicious to slurp down and they are all equally rich and fresh.’
Ramen Bar30 Rue Souverain Pont
Bluegrass and Bloody Marys
‘My friends and I and many others Liegeois like to hang out at Lou’s Bar after a stroll through the weekly Sunday market along the banks of the Meuse, de Marche de la Batte† It is our regular Sunday ritual. On Sundays there are almost always live concerts on Lou’s small stage, blues, bluegrass, garage punk, everything passes by. A great atmosphere here and good cocktails, I love the bloody marys.’
Lou’s Bar, 25 rue de la Boucherie
Brasser(ie)
‘But in fact, Liège has always been a beer city and the new craft beer café Wild Lab Liège, around the corner from Lou’s Bar, serves about a hundred types of specialty beers. It’s not cheap, but they do buy special beers. Close to WLL is also Curtius, from the Curtius beer and other own beers. It’s a brasserie brasserie is brewing in French, and a brewery that is open to visitors, you can even brew your own beer there, I understand.’
Wild Lab LiegeRue Hors-Château 14
La Brasserie C/CurtiusImpasse des Ursulines 14
outsider art
‘In the middle of Parc d’Avroy, in itself a beautiful, shady park, is the newly renovated Trinkhall Museum. It has a special shape and special art is exhibited by artists with a mental disability, outsider art. The artworks come from all over the world. I would definitely go there and have a look at Trinkhall’s lovely cafe, the Mad cafe, boulets à la liégeoise food, typical Liège meatballs with fries.’
Trinkhall MuseumParc d’Avroy 1
Madame Boverie
‘Another nice park. Parc de la Boverie is the green point in Otremeuse, the district on the island in the Meuse. Technically speaking, the right arm of the Meuse is by the way the drainage channel of the Meuse, or as we say La Derivation† In Parc de la Boverie is also La Boverie, the old Palais des Beaux Arts de Liège, where a new wing was built about six years ago. The museum features 19th-century art, including by Monet and Van Gogh, as well as many works by Belgian artists. The museum café is called Madame Boverie, a great lunch spot with a terrace almost on the water.’
La BoverieParc de la Boverie
The conservatory of Liège
‘I really like café Le Péristyle, a somewhat hidden conservatory in the middle of the Jardin Botanique of Liège, which is also free to enter. Le Péristyle is a cool place with lots of greenery and a calm terrace, where you can relax. Unfortunately, the cafe closes at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.’
Le Peristyle, Rue Fusch 3
in the zone
The legendary La Zone has been around since 1988 and used to be a Maison des jeunes, a youth center. It is now a creative and alternative culture center, with exhibitions, concerts, slam poetry and more. There is also cooking and workshops, which I sometimes use to make prints of my work.’
La Zone27 Rue Mean
Coffee and Calatrava
‘At the new Ubuntu coffee cafe, the coffee beans are roasted on site. And what a fantastically good coffee and great choice of coffee flavors they have. Café Ubuntu sits opposite Liège-Guillemins train station, the striking creation of Spanish architect Calatrava. That’s how you look at it. I often sit down at Ubuntu for some peace of mind.”
Cafe Ubuntu104 rue Paradis
Concerts in the riding school
‘In the 19th century, this brick building, the Caserne Fonck, was the riding school of the army barracks in Liège. The building has been restored, but the old ceiling with all the iron trusses has remained completely intact and really beautiful. The riding school is now a concert hall and the barracks are home to the theatre, dance and music festival Festival de Liège.’
Manege de la Caserne Fonck2 . Rue Ransonnet