The Highest Point in Belgium Is a Staircase to Nowhere

The stairs to nowhere at Signal de Botrange. BUFO8 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Signal de Botrange, the remains of an ancient volcano, doesn’t look like much, now little more than a big plateau. But this seemingly flat landscape is actually situated 694 meters (2,277 feet) above sea level, making it the highest point in Belgium.

Apparently, clocking the country’s highest point in at just shy of 700 meters was simply too tantalizing, and so in 1923, a 6-meter (18-foot) stone staircase was constructed atop the peak. From its height, on the top step of the seemingly nonsensical staircase, visitors can survey the land from exactly 700 meters above sea level.

Eleven years later, an observation tower was built atop Signal de Botrange reaching a height of 718 meters above sea level. It may be taller, but it doesn’t have the whimsical charm of a staircase that leads to nowhere.

If you think this is low, not far from this staircase is the highest point in the Netherlands, which is not even half as high.

Know Before You Go

Drive to the Signal de Botrange. There is free parking. In the winter, there are cross country ski trails starting here. In the summer all sorts of trails cross the "Hohen Venn," the high moors of Belgium.