At This Bed and Breakfast, You Can Stay Inside a Motorized Trojan Horse

The Trojan Horse Suite. Kellee Kovalsky (Atlas Obscura User)

For those looking for a magical place to lay your head for the night, La Balade des Gnomes offers a bed and breakfast experience like no other. The term “theme room” does not adequately convey the imaginative decor and intricate details that transport guests into different, fantastical worlds.

An architect with a dream created this unique place to stay in Heyd, Belgium. It’s complete with 10 differently themed rooms and a gourmet restaurant. Each room is unique, with themes varying from being on the moon, living under the earth as a troll, living on a sailboat (with a real sand beach!), a forest cabin, and a variety of other regions and fantasy worlds.

The most famous suite is a stand-alone, two-story building in the shape of a Trojan Horse. The Trojan Horse suite has its own motorized drawbridge entrance. The horse’s head is a room that can be moved around by levers inside. The whole building gives the feeling of being within a mythical, medieval, wooden, post-apocalyptic mobile home. There’s also a jacuzzi tub, as an added bonus.

Know Before You Go

The website is in French and the owners/hosts don't speak a lot of English. A good translator can be handy. The breakfast is lovely, too, and comes in a wicker basket with all that is needed.