The belfry of Douai rises above the town hall like a stone exclamation mark, a tall, square tower with a corner turret and a gilded lion at the top. Belfries were the symbols of medieval towns in Flanders and northern France, built to show that a town had won its freedoms, and to hold the bell that called citizens to meet, fight or put out fires. Douai's was begun in the fourteenth century and finished in the fifteenth, and it is one of the group of belfries of Belgium and France that UNESCO lists together.
Inside is a carillon of more than sixty bells, played by hand on a keyboard and also by an automatic drum, and the music drifts across the square on market days. Douai is also known for Gayant, a family of giants that has paraded through the streets every July since the sixteenth century: a huge figure of a man, his wife and their children, carried by teams of men beneath the costumes, to the delight of the crowds. The tradition is a local passion, and the town takes it with a straight face.
The town sits on the Scarpe river, with canals and quiet squares, and it was a university city under the Spanish crown before French rule. It lies just beyond the northern edge of the mining basin, and from the belfry on a clear day you can see the slag heaps on the horizon, including the twin terrils nearby. Riding in the centre is a matter of cobbles, one-way streets and narrow lanes, so park near the edge and walk. Outside, the roads across the plain are flat and fast, with long straights and sudden roundabouts, and the surfaces are generally good.
Douai has fuel in plenty, together with shops, cafés and restaurants, as do Lambres-lez-Douai and Cuincy. Sit with a coffee in the square and watch the clock, or try a waffle with brown sugar, a northern favourite. The belfry can sometimes be climbed on guided tours, so check hours at the tourist office, and bear in mind that the wind at the top can be sharp. Early morning gives you the quiet of the square and the best light on the stone.