Living in Salzinnes or the Bas-Prés

Across the Sambre, west of the centre and at the foot of the Citadel: a former suburb that has become a real student neighbourhood, with HEPN, IPFS, IMEP and Henallux's paramedical section, its Tuesday market and a clear majority of kots.

The neighbourhood

Salzinnes grew from the middle of the 19th century, when Namur dismantled its fortifications. Between the Sambre and the slope of the Citadel, the former working-class and middle-class suburb has kept this double identity: fine houses near the river, more modest ones as you climb. The street names recall the Mosan painters, Henri Blès, Patenier or Wiertz, and those of the Bas-Prés the abbey of Val Saint-Georges, long since gone.

The neighbourhood lives around its squares and local shops, with a market on Tuesday mornings on place Louise Godin. The difference in height is very real: the Sambre is at 77 metres above sea level, square Fallon at 173.

Getting around

• On foot, the centre and the university are about twenty minutes from the heart of the neighbourhood, the station a little more, and the far end of rue Henri Blès twenty-five minutes.
• Buses 5, 27 and 3 link Salzinnes to the station, the 5 and the 27 until about 10 pm, Sundays included.
• By bike, the towpath follows the Sambre to the centre, and the Li Bia Vélo stations on place Wiertz and place Louise Godin serve the neighbourhood.
• By car, the Saint-Nicolas P+R is very close, with bus 5 to the centre. During exam periods, parking in the neighbourhood's streets gets complicated.

Schools nearby

Rue Henri Blès is the student backbone of Salzinnes: HEPN, whose campus is being rebuilt at number 192, with classes at 188-190 and a move-in expected in 2027, IPFS, and IMEP, the higher institute of music. Henallux also has its paramedical department on rue Louis Loiseau.

Everyday life

The Salzinnes swimming pool, on place Ryckmans, closed at the end of 2020 and is due to become a housing complex with a small pool open to the neighbourhood. In the meantime, the nearest pools are in Saint-Servais and Jambes. For fresh air, the banks of the Sambre and the heights of the Citadel are close.

Housing

This is the kot neighbourhood par excellence, with one of the highest shares in the city. A few studios and flatshares complete the choice. If you visit a ground floor or a home with a cellar on rue Henri Blès, ask about flooding: the street has been through several storm episodes, the latest in July 2025.

For whom?

A good choice if you study at HEPN, IPFS, IMEP or Henallux's paramedical section, or if you like living in a real neighbourhood, away from the bustle of the centre.

Less suited if you want the station or the university a stone's throw away, or if you do not want to climb or wait for a bus.

Torn between this and another neighbourhood? Compare them in Where to search.