BEYOND TRACK LIMITS
A LAP OF CHIMAY...
While Chimay only ever played host to one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix (in 1954) the track was used by other formulae until the 1970s. With its long straight and a mix of high- and low-speed corners -- much of it lined by trees and houses -- Chimay has echoes of the old Spa-Francorchamps Circuit.
A LAP OF REIMS-GUEUX...
Unlike Chimay, Reims-Gueux is more of an 'on the way' trip than a realistic side trip from Spa. A semi-restored historic circuit in the heart of France's Champagne region, the high-speed Reims played host to grand prix racing in the 1920s, '40s, '50s, and '60s. Then -- as now -- the circuit was all public road.
Around Spa-Francorchamps
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Like Austria -- and, to a lesser extent, Silverstone and Germany -- entertainment in Belgium is constrained by the need to travel everywhere by car. With no taxis to speak of, drinks are taken within walking distance of bed. Instead, take advantage of that car to detour to a historic circuit or two.