The Ramparts of Bergues and the Bois des Forts

As part of the Parcours du Coeur 2023, the CCAS France Services de Bergues offers a 15 km walking route.
You will walk around the ramparts of the town of Bergues, then follow the Canal de Bergues; after crossing the Bois des Forts, you will return to your starting point: the Foyer Socio Éducatif.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.03 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 9 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 9 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 17 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 0 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Bergues (59380)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 50.970715° / E 2.43894°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2302O
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Park near the Foyer Socio Éducatif, Avenue de la Liberté in Bergues.

(S/E) Head towards the town centre for about 100 metres.

(1) Climb the stairs on your left. Halfway up the stairs, turn left to walk along the ramparts. Stay on top of the ramparts and follow the path. Go down to Rue Joseph Dezitter and head towards Rue Cornette, then continue to the Porte de Cassel.

(2) Turn right before the Porte de Cassel and follow the Chemin de la Nekerstor. Walk down to reach the Porte de Bierne.

(3) Cross Rue de la Gare and turn right. Walk alongside the building and cross Rue de l’Arsenal to climb back up onto the ramparts, heading towards Porte de Dunkerque.

(4) Cross Rue du Port and take Rue du Quai. Walk along the quay and turn onto Rue du Quai, then immediately turn left back up onto the ramparts. Walk down to the Porte d'Hondschoote.

(5) Turn left onto Avenue Vauban and cross the Canal de la Basse Colme to reach the junction with Promenade Charles Quint.

(6) Turn left onto it and walk along the Canal de la Basse Colme. Pass the Halte Fluviale and you will come to a designated area.

(7) Continue straight ahead and follow the Canal de Bergues along Route du Golf.

(8) Continue straight on and, further on, walk alongside the Dunkirk Golf Course. At the end of the golf course, you’ll reach Fort Vallières.

(9) Go round it by turning right. Take Allée du Fort Vallières to Bois des Forts.
Follow Allée des Mésanges and Allée des Éperviers to reach the junction with Allée du Relais des Forts.

(10) Cross it and follow Allée des Pinsons and Allée des Ramiers to reach the Coudekerque Canal.

(11) Cross it, continue straight ahead along Allée de Bergues, and at the end of the lane, head back up towards the Canal de Bergues. Return to the Parking du Roi, cross it on your left and take the path running alongside the Canal du Roi. Turn right onto Allée du Golf.

(8) Immediately turn left onto Route du Golf. You will then reach the junction with the car park.

(7) Turn left onto Chemin du Canal du Roy and follow it to the junction with Avenue Vauban at Porte aux Boules.

(12) Turn right onto it to return to the Carrefour Charles Quint, which you passed on the way out.

(6) Cross the Basse Colme canal and join Route d’Hondschoode.

(5) Follow it for a few metres to the left, then turn right onto the path, and along a fully restored section of the ramparts, follow the path to the Foyer Socio Educatif (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 8 m - Foyer Socio Éducatif
  2. 1 : km 0.11 - alt. 10 m - Common junction (out and back)
  3. 2 : km 1.94 - alt. 5 m - Porte de Cassel
  4. 3 : km 2.58 - alt. 3 m - Porte de Bierne
  5. 4 : km 2.83 - alt. 3 m - Porte de Dunkerque - Canal de la Basse Colme
  6. 5 : km 3.35 - alt. 4 m - Common junction (out and back)
  7. 6 : km 3.4 - alt. 4 m - Carrefour Charles Quint
  8. 7 : km 3.98 - alt. 2 m - Designated area
  9. 8 : km 4.32 - alt. 3 m - Common junction (out and back) - Canal de Bergues
  10. 9 : km 6.72 - alt. 2 m - Fort Vallières
  11. 10 : km 10.22 - alt. 1 m - Crossroads. Allée du Relais des Forts
  12. 11 : km 10.77 - alt. 0 m - Coudekerque Canal.
  13. 12 : km 14.27 - alt. 3 m - Porte aux Boules
  14. S/E : km 15.03 - alt. 8 m - Foyer Socio Éducatif

Notes

Parking is easy around the Foyer Socio Éducatif (start and finish point).
We recommend wearing suitable footwear, especially for walking on the ramparts.
(S/E) and (10) Public toilets are available.

Worth a visit

You will discover several entrances to the town of Bergues: the Porte de Cassel, the Porte d’Hondschoote, the Porte de Dunkerque, the Porte de Bierne and the Porte aux Boules. All these gates are listed as historic monuments.
You will walk alongside the Bergues Canal for 3 km to reach the Dunkirk Golf Course.
You can round off this route with a visit to the historic town centre (belfry, town hall, bastions, museum, etc.).

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
michel tout court
michel tout court

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

See the historic Bergues walk and the Bois des Forts woods. Highly recommended

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Sylvie et Christophe
Sylvie et Christophe

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We set off around the ramparts and headed towards the 'Sentiers des Bois des Forts' trail, but it wasn't clearly signposted when we reached the Quint crossroads, so we went back the way we came – but otherwise it was a lovely walk 👍

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ti.jose
ti.jose

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk; the section between points 7 and 9, which runs alongside the Bergues Canal and the D916, is a bit noisy. After that, it’s a very pleasant route through the “Bois des Forts” section back to the starting point.

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Frédéric GHESQUIERE
Frédéric GHESQUIERE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Really nice and relaxing

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bvanhaecke
bvanhaecke

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The walk was lovely. We got lost in the Bois des Forts and went round in circles on the Sentier des Ramiers. Then there are places where there are no signposts at all: the Charles Quint junction and the Canal du Roy, for example. We’re probably not very streetwise. We don’t use our phones.

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bel air dunkerque
bel air dunkerque

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk – very easy to access – can be done in two stages – we did the Bois des Forts trail starting at the Porte aux Boules (parking available), had a bite to eat in Bergues, and then did the Remparts trail in the afternoon, starting at Point 1

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