Why this ride
From Boulogne-sur-Mer it runs 119 km to Boulogne-sur-Mer; allow about 1 h 42 of riding. It goes by way of Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais, Beffroi de Gravelines and back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne and Beffroi de Gravelines
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 119 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 42
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer has two faces: the busy fishing port down by the Liane estuary, the largest in France, and the Haute-Ville on the hill above, enclosed by thirteenth-century ramparts that you can walk all the way around. The belfry stands in the upper town, attached to the town hall, its lower part dating from the thirteenth century and the upper stages added later. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO, symbols of the freedom of medieval towns, which rang their bells to call citizens to arms, to work, or to assembly. You can climb it for a view over the rooftops, the port and the Channel.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais.
2. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais
Most riders know Calais as the place where the ferry or the tunnel train spits them out onto French tarmac, and they head south without a backward glance. Spare it an hour. The town hall is a surprise, a grand building in Flemish Renaissance style finished in the early twentieth century, and its belfry, one of the tallest in the region, rises well above the rooftops as a landmark you can see from the port. It forms part of the UNESCO list of belfries in Belgium and France, alongside towers that are centuries older.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beffroi de Gravelines.
3. Beffroi de Gravelines
Gravelines sits right where the river Aa meets the Channel, between Calais and Dunkirk, and it still wears its walls. The town is wrapped in Vauban-era fortifications, a star of brick ramparts, bastions and water-filled moats that you can walk or ride around, and in the middle of it rises the belfry, one of the towers listed by UNESCO among the belfries of northern France and Belgium. It is a solid, sober tower rather than a showpiece, built to watch, warn and ring the hours for a frontier town that changed hands more than once.
Read the complete Beffroi de Gravelines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Beffroi de Gravelines. Next is back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais.
4. back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais, late in the day. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne.
5. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais to Beffroi de Gravelines
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais → Beffroi de Gravelines is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de Gravelines to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais
Beffroi de Gravelines → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.