The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Alveringem it runs 365 km to Alveringem; allow about 4 h 53 of riding. It goes by way of Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque, Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais, Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne and Beffroi de Rue. It crosses from Belgium into France - carry ID and check the toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
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 l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque.
2. 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
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque comes up 49 km in. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais.
3. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
98 km in you reach Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne.
4. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne, about halfway. Next is Beffroi de Rue.
5. Beffroi de Rue
Rue is a small town of three thousand people that used to be a seaport, and the belfry in the middle of it is one of the reasons it still feels more important than its size suggests. Over centuries the Baie de Somme silted up and the sea pulled back, leaving Rue stranded a few kilometres inland among salt meadows and polders, but the stone tower that once watched the harbour still stands over the square. It is part of the group of belfries of Belgium and northern France on the UNESCO list, symbols of civic freedom built by towns that wanted the world to know they governed themselves.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 365 km.
Leg by leg
Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque
Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais is 51 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 l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne to Beffroi de Rue
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne → Beffroi de Rue is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Beffroi de Rue to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne
Beffroi de Rue → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Boulogne → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais is 41 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 back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque to Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Dunkerque → Voormalig Stadhuis met Belfort is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.