La Bourse is a congress center in the center of Namur, housed in the former commercial exchange on Place d'Armes. It is set up for conferences, congresses, seminars, general meetings and press conferences, with a 292-seat auditorium, a 100-seat assembly room, five meeting rooms and two reception spaces. Receptions of up to 300 people fit in the foyer.
Seminars and company events
The larger of the two lecture halls is the Auditoire Félicien Rops. It has 292 tiered seats, a stage, four interpreting booths and audiovisual equipment. The official page gives 293 seats in another section, so confirm the exact figure when you request the room. The Auditoire Henri Michaux is the assembly room, with 100 places. Seven of those are for speakers, 54 seats have individual microphones and lamps, and 46 are simple seats. It has two interpreting booths.
Five meeting rooms take from 4 to 40 people each: Bury, Delvaux, Grumiaux, Magritte and Meunier. They are modular, bright and can be darkened. Wi-Fi is listed. The site lists seminars, working meetings, press conferences, colloquia and general assemblies as typical uses, which makes it suited to an organiser building a conference with a plenary, breakout rooms and a reception.
Weddings and receptions
The venue is presented as a congress center, and weddings are not mentioned. Receptions, drinks and meals are, in two spaces. The foyer is modular and is used for welcome desks, coffee breaks and receptions of up to 300 people. Plein Ciel is a reception space with a panoramic terrace, for receptions, drinks and meals with fewer than 170 guests.
Rooms and capacities
In summary, the Rops auditorium seats 292, the Michaux room seats 100, the five meeting rooms take 4 to 40 each, Plein Ciel takes fewer than 170 and the foyer takes up to 300 standing. The building is fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Catering
The venue does not run its own kitchen. Catering is provided by partner caterers and is charged to the client. This allows the menu to be matched to the type of event, from coffee breaks to a seated meal on the Plein Ciel terrace.
History and setting
The building is the former Bourse de Commerce of Namur, in the Renaissance Louis XIII style. It was converted into a congress center in the early 2000s and renamed La Bourse. It stands on Place d'Armes in the historic center of the city.
Getting there
The address is Place d'Armes 1, 5000 Namur. The center is open by appointment from Monday to Friday and is closed from mid-July to mid-August and during the year-end holidays. A rental brochure with rates is available from the venue and is being reworked at the time of writing. The venue can be reached at labourse@ville.namur.be or +32 81 24 63 52.
