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 Ostend
Ostend
The impenetrable, pentagon-shaped Fort Napoleon is an unusually intact fortress dating from 1812, though there’s comparatively little to see inside. The…
Ostend
The gripping Atlantikwall is a remarkably extensive complex of WWI and WWII bunkers, gun emplacements and linking brick tunnels created by occupying…
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…
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…
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…
Ostend
Evolving since 2001, architect Takashi Sawano has faithfully reproduced a Japanese garden just blocks from Ostend's seashore. Come to wander through its…
Ostend
Mu.Zee, Ostend’s foremost gallery, features predominantly local artists. There’s a significant collection by symbolist painter Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946)…
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.