Veurne

Veurne kept its Grote Markt more or less intact, an unusually complete square of gabled brick and stone buildings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the town was a Spanish administrative centre, including the town hall, the old law courts, a belfry listed among the Belgian belfries, and the Spanish Pavilion. The square survived both world wars, which few in this part of Flanders did. The town's tradition is the Boetprocessie, a penitents' procession held on the last Sunday of July since 1644, in which hooded figures in brown sackcloth walk the streets barefoot carrying wooden crosses, alongside tableaux of biblical scenes, a survival of a form of public penance that has disappeared almost everywhere else.

What you actually see

• An intact Spanish-era square - gabled buildings from the seventeenth century.
• The belfry - climbable, and listed among the Belgian belfries.
• The penitents' procession - hooded barefoot figures on the last Sunday of July.
• The Spanish Pavilion - the administrative building on the market.

When to go

April to October for the town; the last Sunday of July for the procession, which fills it. Half a day otherwise. The belfry has limited opening. Weekday mornings are quiet.

Honest expectations

It is small and half a day is enough outside procession day. The procession is a religious observance, not a pageant, and should be watched quietly. Museums keep short hours. Interpretation is largely in Dutch.

Nearby

De Panne and the coast are north-west; Poperinge lies south-east.