Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort and Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
168 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 54
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
168 km from Alveringem to Alveringem, about 2 h 54 of riding. On the way it passes Beffroi de Bergues, Landhuis met Belfort, Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque and back through Landhuis met Belfort. It crosses from Belgium into France - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort
Lo is one of the smallest towns in Belgium, a cluster of brick houses around a market square in the flat polders of the Westhoek, a few kilometres from the French border. Its former town hall, built in the sixteenth century in Renaissance style, has a small belfry tower, and it is part of the UNESCO-listed Belfries of Belgium and France, alongside much grander towers in Bruges, Ghent and Lille. It is a reminder that even tiny towns had civic pride and privileges worth announcing to the world.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de Bergues.
2. Beffroi de Bergues
Bergues found a new kind of fame in 2008, when the comedy Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, filmed here, became one of the most successful French films of all time, and suddenly the whole country wanted to see the town where a postman from the south is exiled to the cold north and ends up falling in love with it. The film's best-known scenes include the belfry, from which the hero rings the carillon, and the town still welcomes visitors who come in search of the locations. But Bergues was a proud place long before cinema arrived. It is a small fortified town in French Flanders, surrounded by ramparts and canals, with fortifications improved by Vauban in the seventeenth century.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de Bergues comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Landhuis met Belfort.
3. Landhuis met Belfort
Veurne's market square is one of the most complete in Flanders, and the old Landhuis, with its belfry rising behind it, is the reason. The Landhuis was the seat of the castellany, the regional administration that governed the surrounding countryside, and its belfry is part of the group of Belgian and French belfries protected by UNESCO. Around the square stand the town hall, the old meat hall and a row of gabled houses, many dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Veurne was under Spanish rule, which explains the stepped gables and ornate facades.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Landhuis met Belfort. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque.
4. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque
The tower of Dunkirk's town hall rises above the centre of a city rebuilt from the ruins of the Second World War, a brick and stone belfry that is part of the World Heritage Site of the Belfries of Belgium and France. Belfries were symbols of civic freedom in the medieval towns of Flanders and northern France, housing bells and sometimes the town's charters, and they stood as proud counterparts to church towers. Dunkirk actually has two listed belfries, the town hall tower and the separate Saint-Éloi belfry beside the church, a reminder of how much these towns valued their bells.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort closes the day.
Leg by leg
Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort to Beffroi de Bergues
Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort → Beffroi de Bergues is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de Bergues to Landhuis met Belfort
Beffroi de Bergues → Landhuis met Belfort is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Landhuis met Belfort to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque
Landhuis met Belfort → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque to back through Landhuis met Belfort
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque → back through Landhuis met Belfort is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Landhuis met Belfort to back through Beffroi de Bergues
back through Landhuis met Belfort → back through Beffroi de Bergues is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de Bergues to Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort
back through Beffroi de Bergues → Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.