The Dumont quarter, behind the seafront promenade, is one of the best-preserved concentrations of Belle Époque and Art Nouveau architecture on the Belgian coast. The streets were laid out in the 1890s and early 1900s as a fashionable seaside resort for the Flemish bourgeoisie, and many of the original villas survive with their decorative ironwork, turrets, and ceramic tile facades.
Walking the streets of the Dumont quarter feels like stepping into a slightly faded version of coastal elegance. Some houses have been converted to apartments or restaurants, but the scale and character of the neighbourhood has changed little since it was built. The tourist office publishes a self-guided walking route with descriptions of the most interesting buildings.
The quarter is named after Eugène Dumont, the town's nineteenth-century developer, whose plans gave De Panne its distinctive residential character compared with more commercial resorts further along the coast.