OSTEND
Area: Belgium


Location:
On Belgian coast, 20 mls SW of Dutch border, 20 mls NE of French border. 70 mls NW of Brussels. Local airport 4 mls.

Telephone code from UK:
32

Website:
http://www.oostende.be

Position:
Surrounded by flat fields and meadows with canals, fertile polders and gentle dunes.

Description:
A flat seaside resort measuring 5 mls by 3 mls, Ostend is characterised by a hotchpotch of architecture resulting from random rebuilding after World War II. In addition to a palatial 1930s-vintage thermal hotel, the town boasts a racecourse, beautifully landscaped public park, Olympic-size swimming pool, casino and an old fishermen's quarter with picturesque seafront promenade, twin piers and yacht port. Ostend is also the country's principal fishing port and for generations a favourite with the Belgian royal family.

Suitability:
Mainly middlemarket and suitable for all ages. Favourite with couples visiting from Brussels for weekend.

Accommodation:
Plentiful, but a lack of luxury hotels. Most are dotted around old fishermen's quarter.

Shopping:
Open markets and small shops in fishermen's quarter vaunt Flemish foodstuffs (particularly seafood) and lace.

Beach:
Broad strip of sand subject to weather's whims.

Entertainments:
Daytime: guided walks; horse-drawn carriage rides. Aquarium. Museums of modern art, fine art and folklore. Unusual house of local painter James Ensor. Impressive neo-Gothic church of St Peter and Paul. Angling, hiring bicycles, golf, karting, indoor climbing, minigolf, sailing, tennis. Educational nature walks in vast Maria Hendrikapark. Training clipper in yacht port. Nightlife: casino, musical comedy, theatre. Jazz pubs. Disco.

Eating:
Long line of restaurants on seafront promenade and yacht port serving specialities such as sole, lobster, oysters, prawns, mussels with French fries, bouillabaisse, "Waterzooi" (poached fish in cream sauce) and "Paling in 't groen" (eels fried with finely chopped onions, herbs and lemon liqueur). Typical snacks from whelk stalls. Range of fast-food eateries. Try out the local gin and the waffles.

Public-transport:
Regular local bus service. Regular tram service along coast between Dutch and French borders passes through town. Taxis. Hire cars available.

Local-excursions:
Half day: boat trips along coast; quaint village of Stene (2 mls) with interesting white church. Full day: Bruges (15 mls); fun parks for children (Boudewijn and Meli Parks); Middelburg market and cheese farm in Netherlands; Brussels and Waterloo.