Ostend
Ostend’s most striking historical building features beautifully ornate twin spires, a rose window and a gloomy neo-Gothic interior. It was consecrated on…
Must-see attractions in Belgian Coast
Ostend
The impenetrable, pentagon-shaped Fort Napoleon is an unusually intact fortress dating from 1812, though there’s comparatively little to see inside. The…
Belgian Coast
This superb museum occupies the house and studio of Paul Delvaux (1897–1994), one of Belgium's most famous surrealist artists. What appears to be a…
Belgian Coast
Visits walk you through a genuine 19th-century fisherman’s cottage, teaching you about fish quotas and fishermen’s superstitions, then send you and your…
Belgian Coast
Located about 7km from Knokke-Heist's main strip, this excellent modern museum focuses on the period between 1940 and 1944 when the Zwin region was…
Ostend
The gripping Atlantikwall is a remarkably extensive complex of WWI and WWII bunkers, gun emplacements and linking brick tunnels created by occupying…
Belgian Coast
Around 5km northeast of Knokke, Het Zwin was once one of the world’s busiest waterways, connecting Bruges with the sea. In medieval times the river silted…
Ostend
This lesser-known residential part of Ostend was once in ill repute, but savvy homebuyers have recently snapped up its wealth of utterly charming art…
Ostend
Once a vibrant fishing village, Walraversijde disappeared entirely following the strife of 1600 to 1604, leaving mere foundations. Today the…
Belgian Coast
This cute popular theme park is based around Belgian TV character Plop the gnome and his friends. It's a kid-pleasing world of rides, roller coasters and…
Ostend
Most of the beachfront is overshadowed by 10-storey concrete buildings, but beside the very ‘50s Thermae Palace Hotel there's some respite where a…
Ostend
This fully rigged, three-masted 1932 sailing ship was once used for Belgian Navy training purposes and is now a nautical museum that hosts changing…
Ostend
The last Ostend trawler to have fished around Iceland (1970s) is brought to life with waxwork figures, videos and sound effects. Highlights include the…
Belgian Coast
One of the largest marinas in northern Europe. Come here to gaze at the tall masts bobbing on the water, or to hook up with a skipper for local cruises,…
Belgian Coast
De Hann's circular park is located at the heart of the village and features a playground, tennis courts and manicured lawns perfect for picnicking and…
Belgian Coast
Incorporating the Scharpoord Gallery, Knokke's excellent Culture Centre hosts a diverse year-round range of visiting exhibitions and events, many of them…
Ostend
One might expect this museum, occupying a house that hosted Napoleon in 1798 and Belgian royals from 1834–1850, to be a little more grandiose and exciting…
Belgian Coast
Fringed by a weathered tangle of knotted sand dunes, this seemingly endless stretch of white sand is actually only 4km-long, including a popular nudist…
Belgian Coast
Belgium's only officially sanctioned nudist beach draws up to 1000 bathers on a summer's day. Be sure to stay within the designated nudist zone, as police…
Ostend
Evolving since 2001, architect Takashi Sawano has faithfully reproduced a Japanese garden just blocks from Ostend's seashore. Come to wander through its…
Belgian Coast
Halfway between the village and coast, you'll find this extraordinary 1956 church whose bulky pale-brick tower has an almost medieval look, except for the…
Ostend
Mu.Zee, Ostend’s foremost gallery, features predominantly local artists. There’s a significant collection by symbolist painter Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946)…
Belgian Coast
The Seafront's main attractions are a parked Russian submarine and a lightship (sister to one in Antwerp).
Ostend
Soul superstar Marvin Gaye wrote his last hit, 'Sexual Healing', in 1981 while living in Ostend. His residency is marked by a wildly tacky statue of the…
Ostend
Ostend's modern pier isn't as long or grand as many of its counterparts along the coast, but it does make for a nice stroll on a warm day. When the wind…
Ostend
This educational operation has a little one-room collection of seashells and sand that you can examine under the microscope.
