Dunkerque's fine arts museum occupies a 19th-century building on Place du Général de Gaulle in the town centre. The collection covers several centuries of European painting, with a particular strength in 16th and 17th-century Flemish and Dutch work — appropriate for a town that spent centuries under Habsburg rule and retains strong cultural ties to Belgium.
The Flemish section includes portraits, still lives, and maritime scenes that reflect the northern European tradition Dunkerque belongs to as much as the French one. There is also French work from the 18th and 19th centuries, and a small collection of prints and drawings. The museum is modestly sized — two to three hours covers it comfortably — and admission is reasonable. It provides a genuine cultural counterweight to the military history that dominates most visits to the town.