Belgian seaside resorts and hotel bookings

 

The Belgian seaside resorts are sandy over the full length of the coast. With Ostend as the only exception, tourists have a wide beach available everywhere. Tides are along dozens of meters from one another but I fear that you may measure them yourself.

In Summer the Belgian seaside towns have a program full of activities during the day and shows and musical performances for the evenings. Here are the Belgian seaside towns from Knokke in the North against the Dutch border to Adinkerke in the South.

Hotel availability

Knokke and Knokke-Heist

Knokke beach with cabins

Knokke is one of the Belgian seaside resorts in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, located in West Flanders in Belgium. The town has 15,653 inhabitants as of 2003, while the municipality of Knokke-Heist 33,818 as of 2009. It is the most north-eastern still Belgian seaside resort. It is separated from the Dutch territory by the Zwin nature reserve. Knokke’s existence is due to the construction of dykes built to protect the environment against floods from the ‘Zwin’ sea-arm. Originally it was a vacation haven for the inhabitants of Brussels in the early 19th century. Artists as James Ensor, Alfred Verwee and others started to frequent the small hamlet to paint its beautiful sights. They rented a cottage and started the Cercle des Artistes in 1880. It gradually became a resort town with upscale clientele, restaurants and shops. There is also an English-speaking community with church St. George’s Anglican Church. There are beautiful beaches with a dyke system to which it owes its origin. It has the largest of Belgium’s ten casinos that is located on the seaside promenade and is open 20 hours a day. The town has a tramline wich serves the whole Belgian seaside until De Panne. It has also a railway station direction Bruges with connections from Bruges to Brussels or Lille.

Official info for tourists

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one of the Belgian seaside resorts Blankenberge

Blankenberge

Blankenberge is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders that comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke. The town of Blankenberge has a total population of 19,897 (2014). The municipality has a population density of 1,142 inhabitants per km². Blankenberge is one of the Belgian seaside resorts with international reputation. It has a very busy beach during summertime with a 350-m long pier out 1933. It has some well known events as Carnival Parade, the Two Day Marching event every first weekend of May, Klankenberge, Flower Parade (Bloemencorso) every last Sunday of August.

Tourist information

Zeebrugge

Zeebrugge is a Belgian seaside resort with hotels, cafés, marinas and a beach. It is a strategic punt with traffic to many directions over land and over see. It has a short distance to Great Britain and has a ferry boat that brings passengers from the one country to the other over sea. An expressway to Bruges connects Zeebrugge to the European motorway system. Zeebrugge is also on the tram line from Knokke to De Panne. And finally there is a railway station to Bruges and from there to Knokke or Blankenberge, direction Lille or Gent, Antwerp, Brussels and the rest of the country. Except for beach resort Zeebrugge is also an import sea harbour. It is the central port for Europe’s automotive industry. Further it is responsible for the import, handling and storage of energy products, agriculture products and other general cargo. Zeebrugge has the largest LNG (liquid Natural Gaz) terminal complex in Europe.

Wenduine

Wenduine is a Belgian seaside resort on the North Sea coast. Earlier a fishing village but now a district of “De Haan” and has some 4000 inhabitants. Many children and teens came there in organised holidays. It is located between Blankenberge in the North and De Haan in the South. As public traffic there is the coastal tram.

De Haan

De Haan is a Belgian seaside resort and a municipality located in West Flanders, Belgium. Except for De Haan and the already mentioned Wenduine, the municipality also comprises Klemskerke and Vlissegem. As of 2006, De Haan had a total population of 11,925 with a population density of 283 inhabitants per km². The coastal village of De Haan proper has maintained a low skyline so its many buildings in Belle Époque style are still prominently visible. The town has an 18-hole golf course situated in its dunes, founded by King Leopold II in 1903. Once Albert Einstein in the Belgian seaside community De Haan. In 1933, he stayed for six months in the villa “Savoyarde” after leaving Nazi Germany.

Official website

Ostend the biggest of the Belgian seaside resorts

Ostend is a Belgian coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene, and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian seaside. As of 1 January 2016, the total population was 70 600 with a density of 1 900 inhabitants per km2. Ostend’s history goes back to before 1265 but only at that time it get the status of ‘town’. It had a strategic position as harbor which became of some importance from the 18th century on. Later there came an airport mainly for TAAG Angola Airlines and touristic flights for Jetairfly that has there its headquarters. There is also a railway station with a connection to Bruges and further to different directions in the country.

The beach is smaller than in any other Belgian Sea resort. During high tide, there is not even a beach but then the waves crash against the higher dike which you can watch from the large sea-side esplanade Ostend is famous for. This one also includes the Royal Galleries of Ostend, Casino and entry to the pier. Next to the pier is Klein Strand (small beach) but further, the Royal Galleries past the beach becomes larger (het Groot Strand) and also exists during high tide. Many Belgians have their private apartment with sight on Klein Strand. Ostend used to be widely visited by the British, Germans, French, and Dutch but is now mainly frequented by Belgians and Dutch.

Things to see

– Near the beach is a well-preserved section of the fortified Atlantic Wall, open to the public as the Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum located in Riverside.
– One can walk through the little streets around Het Vissersplein. In the summer the Vissersplein has music festivals. It is a car-free zone with many brasseries with terraces. There are local markets on the neighborhood streets.
– Towards the port side there are many little fish outlets, and beyond that the ferries can be observed docking.
– The Casino and Fort Napoleon, Ostend.
– The Mercator, the ex training sailing ship for Belgian merchant navy officers, now open to the public to view.
– Hippodrome Wellington, horse racing venue.
– St Petrus and St Paulus Church, Ostend (Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk), built in Neo Gothic style.
– The James Ensor museum can be visited in the house where the artist lived from 1917 until 1949.
– The Mu.Zee a new museum.
– The museum of modern art from the 1830s to the present with works of noted local painters such as James Ensor, Leon Spilliaert, Constant Permeke and the revolutionary post-war Belgian COBRA movement amongst others.

Mariakerke
Mariakerke is a Belgian seaside resort in West Flanders. Previously it was a village on its own a little to the west of Ostend but now it now forms part of Ostend. It has 11 305 inhabitants. Mariakerke at the seaside is not to confuse with a community with the same name in Eastern Flanders, Mariakerke also.

Official website

Middelkerke

Middelkerke is a municipality located in West Flanders. It is a Belgian seaside resort west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the villages of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-Kapelle, Slijpe, Westende and Wilskerke. On January 1 in 2006, Middelkerke had a total population of 17 841 with a population density of 236 inhabitants per km². The first reference of ‘Middelkerca’ is found in 1218. Before 1876 it was mainly was a farming settlement.
Sports: The Noordzeecross is a February cyclo-cross race held in Middelkerke, which is part of the Superprestige.

Official site sub: tourism

Westende

Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West-Flanders. It is a Belgian seaside resort on what they also call the Flemish coast. It used to be the far west of the island Testerep which lay along the Belgian coast.

Nieuwpoort

Nieuwpoort is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Nieuwpoort proper and the towns of Ramskapelle and Sint-Joris. On January 1, 2008, Nieuwpoort had a total population of 11 062 with a population density of 350 inhabitants per km². The old city center of Nieuwpoort is located about three kilometers from the current coastline. Close to the sea, a new tourist center has developed. Both parts form one contiguous built-up area, connected by buildings along Albert I Laan street and the fishing port. Nieuwpoort is located at the Belgian seaside where the Yser flows into the North Sea. It is also the home of a statue created by Jan Fabre called ‘Searching for Utopia’.

Koksijde

Koksijde is a town and a municipality in Belgium. It is a Belgian seaside resort located in the southwest of the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the villages of Oostduinkerke, St-Idesbald, and Wulpen. On January 1, 2006, Koksijde municipality had a total population of 21 269 and a population density of 484 inhabitants per km². The old town center of Koksijde is located about two kilometers from the shoreline. Close by the sea, a new tourist center, Koksijde-bad, has developed. A bit to the west on the territory is the hamlet of Sint-Idesbald. The old town center of Oostduinkerke is located more than one kilometer from the coastline as well, with Oostduinkerke-bad close to the sea. Over 4 kilometers inland is the rural polder village of Wulpen. The highest dune hilltop is located in Koksijde and is named: Hoge Bleeker.

Things to see

– The museum of the historical ‘Ten Duinen Abbey’ is set in a modern building, explaining the religious and cultural importance of this abbey throughout history and showing the daily life of Cistercian monks from the early Middle Ages, beginning in 1107 till the death of the last monk in 1833. The archeological site has been restored and is open to the public. The attic of the museum contains a remarkable collection of liturgical silverware.
– The British Military Cemetery (1940–1945) bears witness to British sacrifices in the Battle of Dunkirk.
– The Paul Delvaux museum in St-Idesbald houses the largest collection of paintings from this Belgian surrealist painter in the world.

Sports

– The annual Duinencross Koksijde cyclo-cross race, part of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, takes place in the municipality. In 1994 and 2012 the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships were held here.
– Koksijde operates the Koksijde Golf ter Hille golf club.

Oostduinkerke

Oostduinkerke is a place in the Belgian province of West Flanders, where it is located on the southwest coast of Belgium, so part of it is a seaside resort. Once a municipality of its own, Oostduinkerke now is a sub-municipality in the municipality of Koksijde. It lies amidst a dune area of approximately 2.4 km2, which is now a protected nature reserve. To go for walks in the nature reserves (7 km2) or on the beach (8 km) or on the promenade (3.6 km) is a refreshing experience. The sandy beach stretches from 250 to 700 m at ebb-tide and extends over 30 km, via De Panne to the beach of Dunkirk (France), which explains why Oostduinkerke is popular with sand yachters and parakarters. Unique in the world are the shrimpers on horseback you can watch from the shore at fixed times. There is also some museum as the National Fishery Museum, the Key and Lock Museum, a regional museum ‘t Krekelhof, and Florishof. Oostduinkerke is also home to Koksijde Golf ter Hille, a par-72 golf course. The British Military Cemetery (1940–1945) bears witness to British sacrifices in the Battle of Dunkirk.

De Panne

De Panne is a town and a municipality located on the Belgian seaside, part of the North Sea coast, in the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, which implies that it is the westernmost location of Belgium. The municipality comprises apart from De Panne the village of Adinkerke. On 1 January 2006 De Panne had a total population of 10 060 with a population density of 421 inhabitants per km². There is a railway station located near Adinkerke with a regular connection to Brussels via Ghent. The line across the border to Dunkirk is out of use. But you can take the bus to Gare de Dunkerque. A cross-border campaign group called Trekhaak-73 is seeking to re-open the railway line.

Famous people who lived or died in De Panne include King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth, and John Aidan Liddell, VC, who died in De Panne in August 1915. The Belgian royal family lived in De Panne during the First World War because it is located in a tiny fraction of their country that was not conquered by the Germans. De Panne was also the place where the first land yachts intended for sport were built and used by the Dumont brothers in 1898. On 17 July 1831, Leopold I, the first Belgian king, sailed to Calais from England and arrived in Belgium in De Panne. The Leopold I Esplanade, which includes a statue of him, commemorates his arrival.

Things to see

– De Panne is home to Plopsaland, a theme park aimed at young children and located at the former Meli-Park.
– Belgian Military Cemetery of De Panne, Kerkstraat 69 in De Panne. Except for Belgian soldiers who died in the First World War there are also British soldiers who died in the Second World War. 3,744 soldiers have been buried here. Close nearby is Adinkerke Military Cemetery.

Sports

Since 1977 the town has hosted the Three Days of De Panne cycle race, which is held in the run up to, and traditionally used by riders as preparation for, the Tour of Flanders.

News links

US Belgium postcard,
Ripple effect the Belgian coastlines,
Belgium by the sea

Browse 716 North Sea Coast hotels, Belgium

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