Belfries are high towers that medieval cities used to display their power. They could also use them to warn the population of impending disaster (by ringing the town bells that hung there) and often kept important town documents there. Very occasionally, prisoners were also locked up in them. They were above all a status symbol. Usually among the best decorated buildings of a city, these towers were built mainly between the 11th and 17th centuries. They display Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectural styles. Although we are talking about "Flemish Belfries," perhaps we should mention that there are also belfries in provinces where you might not immediately expect it: for example, Namur, Hainaut, Limburg and Antwerp. They are less widespread. Still, there are some belfries in each of these provinces.

UNESCO recognized the Flemish belfries as a unique World Heritage Site. Note that these are not just the Belfries in Belgium. These of northern France also belong to it. Perfectly normal considering that French Flanders used to be "Flemish" as well. Throughout the Flemish region, belfries were built 😉 In 1999, 32 belfries were recognized, another 24 in 2005. Below is the complete list. About 1 out of 2 belfries (about 30) you can actually visit as a viewpoint. Note that it is not the form (church vs. town hall) that is decisive for inclusion in the UNESCO list, but rather the function. Thus, it may indeed happen that not a town hall but a church is listed. So it means that that church at least temporarily assumed the function of belfry.

Check out our top.vlaanderen page on:
- The Belfry of Ypres

A fun fact:
Did you know ... a city can even have 2 belfries ?

Yes, Dunkirk has no less than 2. How come?
Well, Dunkirk has two belfries because it retained its medieval civic/church belfry when a new city hall was built at the end of the 19th century also with its own belfry. Both represent another phase and typology of urban power and therefore stand both on the UNESCO list. UNESCO thus accepted both belfries in one city because each is a meaningful (and different) expression of the civic urban autonomy the belfries symbolize:
- Beffroi de Saint-Éloi (1440, 58 m) - Originally the tower of St. Eloois Church. After a fire in 1558 the tower is separate from the (later rebuilt) church. Today it is a freestanding belfry tower with carillon and viewing platform; official UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Belfry of City Hall (1897-1901, 75 m) - Neo-Flemish town hall by architect Louis-Marie Cordonnier With a tall belfry tower. Was built in 2005 co-recognized by UNESCO. The two belfries are barely about a hundred meters apart.
The photo below shows the two belfries in the same field of view.




The Belgian cities Antwerp and Mechelen also come each with 2 buildings on the UNESCO list for. This is because some church towers in the Middle Ages the urban (non-denominational) functions of a belfry recordings: alarm and hour clocks, watchtower, sometimes storage of city documents. Therefore, they fall within the criteria of this UNESCO list. Riddle solved 😉

Internet information from and about Flemish Belfries

Top.Vlaanderen Pages about Belforts:
– Belfort of Menen (Belgium)
– Belfort of Ypres (Belgium)
– Belfort of Arras (Arras, France)
– Belfort at the Town Hall of Calais (Calais, France)
– Belfort of Grevelingen (France)

Wikipedia information about:
– the Belfort phenomenon (NE – FR – EN)
– Belforts in Belgium and France (NE – FR – EN)
– World Heritage (NE – FR – EN)
Official UNESCO page about the belforts: website

List of 15 climbable Flemish Belfries

We consulted dozens of sources looking for information on which belfries can really be visited upstairs. If you want to go there, inform yourself beforehand . After all, attractions are sometimes temporarily closed for maintenance work, annual vacations, and so on.

Note: We also made a new(er) and more extensive overview of potentially visitable belfries. Since we are still checking them further, this one was placed at the very bottom of this page for now.

Click on the column headers to sort the corresponding column. Clicking again on the same column header changes the sorting direction.

Certainly climbable UNESCO belfries (BE & FR)

Please note: opening hours/conditions (weather, maintenance, capacity) sometimes change. Check the link just before departure.

List of 56 UNESCO-recognized Flemish Belfries

Thus, all these belfries may use this logo:

The last 3 columns refer to the Dutch, French or English Wikipedia page(if it exists, of course). Through these dozens of links you will obtain directly detailed and correct information about the belfry in question.

Click on the column headers to sort the corresponding column. Clicking again on the same column header changes the sorting direction. Initially, the list is sorted by country, province/department and city.

Our photos about Flemish Belfries

Onze foto’s, video’s, … zijn allen (c) 2004-2026, Top.Vlaanderen, België. Ze mogen niet “zomaar” worden overgenomen of gebruikt. Ze zijn evenwel licentieerbaar. Wil U uw eigen toeristische attractie, B&B, vakantiewoning… laten fotograferen door ons, dat kan ook. Neem hiervoor contact met ons op via ons Contactformulier .

Below is one photo for each belfry we have already photographed. These 17 belfries, accounting for almost 1 out of 3 recognized belfries, are listed in alphabetical order by city name. They represent well what such a belfry looks like and what various architectural styles were used.

Overview list accessibility of the 56 Flemish Belfries

Country	Prov./Dep.	City of	Belfry/Tower	Climbable	Note	Info
Belgium	Antwerp	Antwerp	Cathedral of Our Lady (tower)	Yes (supervised)	Via (guided) tower visit	Info
Belgium	Antwerp	Antwerp	City Hall (with belfry)	Unknown	No obvious audience climb found	Basic
Belgium	Antwerp	Herentals	Old Town Hall & Cloth Hall (belfry)	Unknown	-	Basic
Belgium	Antwerp	Winch	City hall with tower (belfry)	Yes (supervised)	At occasional times/tour	Info
Belgium	Antwerp	Mechelen	Old Cloth Hall (with belfry)	Unknown	No public climb known	Basic
Belgium	Antwerp	Mechelen	St. Rombouts tower (cathedral)	Yes (free)	Daily, tickets	Info
Belgium	East Flanders	Aalst	Alderman's house (belfry)	Yes (supervised)	Tours/fixed dates	Info
Belgium	East Flanders	Dendermonde	City Hall & belfry	Yes (supervised)	Elevator + stairs, guided tour	Info
Belgium	East Flanders	Eeklo	Town hall with belfry	Unknown	-	Basic
Belgium	East Flanders	Ghent	Belfort	Yes (free)	Daily, tickets	Info
Belgium	East Flanders	Oudenaarde	Town hall with belfry	Unknown	MOU museum; tower visit exceptional	Info
Belgium	West Flanders	Bruges	Belfort	Yes (free)	Daily, 366 steps	Info
Belgium	West Flanders	Diksmuide	City Hall & belfry	Unknown	-	Basic
Belgium	West Flanders	Ypres	Cloth Hall (belfry)	Yes (free)	Admission through In Flanders Fields Museum	Info
Belgium	West Flanders	Kortrijk	Belfort	Yes (supervised)	Guided only	Info
Belgium	West Flanders	Menin	Town hall with belfry	Yes (free)	Open daily as an observation tower	Info
Belgium	West Flanders	Newport	Stadshalle & belfry	Unknown	-	Basic
Belgium	West Flanders	Roeselare	City Hall, Stadshalle & belfry	Unknown	-	Basic
Belgium	West Flanders	Tielt	Hall tower & belfry	Yes (supervised)	Guide/fixed moments	Info
Belgium	West Flanders	Veurne	Manor house & belfry	No	Not open to the public	Info
Belgium	Flemish Brabant	Leuven	St. Peter's Church (belfry)	Yes (supervised)	Occasional tower openings	Example
Belgium	Flemish Brabant	Tienen	St. Germanus church with city tower	Yes (supervised)	Carillon/tower climb (dates)	Info
Belgium	Flemish Brabant	Salt Lion	St Leonard's church (belfry)	Yes (supervised)	Carillon/tower climb (dates)	Example
Belgium	Limburg	Sint-Truiden	Town hall with belfry	Unknown	Abbey tower can be climbed though (not belfry)	Abbey Tower
Belgium	Limburg	Tongeren	OLV Basilica with city tower	Yes (free)	Daily via TESEUM	Info
Belgium	Hainaut	Binche	Town hall with belfry	Unknown	-	Basic
Belgium	Hainaut	Charleroi	Town hall with belfry	Yes (supervised)	Tours/panorama (info local)	Info
Belgium	Hainaut	Mons	Belfort	Yes (free)	Visitor site + elevator	Info
Belgium	Hainaut	Thuin	Belfort	Yes (free)	Daily hours, 190 steps	Info
Belgium	Hainaut	Tournai (Tournai)	Belfort	Yes (free)	Daily (except Mon.)	Info
Belgium	Names	Names	Beffroi / Tour Saint-Jacques	Probably no	No standard visit; outside view	Basic
Belgium	Names	Gembloux	Beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Nord	Armentières	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (supervised)	1st Sat. (Apr-Oct) + by appointment.	Info
France	Nord	Bailleul	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (supervised)	On reservation/fixed times	Info
France	Nord	Bergues	Beffroi	Yes (supervised)	Visits via OT	Info
France	Nord	Cambrai	St. Martin's church (beffroi)	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Nord	Comines	Town hall with beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Nord	Douai	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (free)	Regular visits	Info
France	Nord	Dunkerque	Beffroi Saint-Éloi (church)	Yes (free)	Elevator/View	Info
France	Nord	Dunkerque	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (free)	Visit & panorama	Info
France	Nord	Gravelines	Beffroi	Yes (supervised)	Seasonal/inheritance days	Info
France	Nord	Lille	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (free)	Daily slots	Info
France	Nord	Loos	Town hall with beffroi	No (currently)	Public visit discontinued	Source
France	Pas-de-Calais	Aire-sur-la-Lys	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (supervised)	Fixed slots/tour	Info
France	Pas-de-Calais	Arras	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (free)	Elevator + stairs	Info
France	Pas-de-Calais	Béthune	Beffroi	Yes (supervised)	Tours	Info
France	Pas-de-Calais	Boulogne-sur-Mer	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (free)	Visit possible	Info
France	Pas-de-Calais	Calais	Town hall with beffroi	Yes (free)	Elevator/panorama	Info
France	Pas-de-Calais	Hesdin	Town hall with beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Somme	Abbeville	Beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Somme	Amiens	Beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Somme	Doullens	Former town hall (beffroi)	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Somme	Lucheux	City gate with beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Somme	Rue	Beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic
France	Somme	Saint-Riquier	Beffroi	Unknown	-	Basic

Disclaimer: All information presented on top.vlaanderen has been compiled with the utmost care. It is also checked regularly. If you have any comments, errors, additional information, etc... please contact us via our contact form. We are not responsible for possible incorrect or incomplete information.