Piercot Boulevard

Here you are on Boulevard Piercot, one of Liège’s most elegant avenues. Wide, tree-lined, and lined with stately townhouses, it was created in 1863 after a branch of the Meuse was filled in. Its name pays tribute to Ferdinand Piercot, who served several times as mayor of Liège in the nineteenth century and played a key role in Belgian political life. As you stroll along the boulevard, notice the variety of styles: a few nineteenth-century mansions, now listed as heritage buildings, stand side by side with more modern postwar constructions. But the true jewel here is the Royal Conservatory of Liège, inaugurated in 1887. Built in a Neo-Renaissance style, it is now home to the Conservatory, the Philharmonic Hall, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège. This is where great classical works come to life, performed by musicians of international renown. The boulevard is also something of an open-air museum. Scattered along the avenue, busts and monuments pay tribute to Liège’s great musical figures, from the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, famously nicknamed the “King of the Violin,” to César Thomson, Louis Poulet, and Henri Koch—all reminders of the city’s exceptional musical heritage.