Discover Oostende: History, Dunes and Sea

Oostende combines maritime landscapes with impressive traces of history. Here, you can combine a day at a museum with a walk in the dunes, a cycling tour through the polders or a visit to historic fortifications. When looking for a holiday apartment, it is therefore worth first deciding on your preferred travel rhythm: should the trip focus more on culture and city visits, or on paths along the sea, through the dunes and around the Oostende area?

History in museums, ships and forts

The Stadsmuseum Oostende offers an interactive, guided journey of discovery through the history of Oostende. Tickets are available online and at the museum ticket office. The James Ensorhuis offers another way of exploring cultural history: it is located in the house on Vlaanderenstraat where James Ensor lived and worked until his death in 1949.

The museum ships also give Oostende a distinctive character. The sailing ship Mercator has been moored in Oostende since 1964, is a museum ship and is protected as a listed monument. Its history includes 41 voyages around the world. At the Amandine museum ship, both guided tours and unguided visits are possible, allowing you to fit the visit into your daily schedule.

Several different destinations are available for exploring military history. Fort Napoleon offers a storytelling trail about the history of the fort, as well as an adapted tour for children. Atlantikwall Raversyde is one of the best-preserved remnants of the German defensive line and comprises more than 60 bunkers, open and underground passageways, observation posts and gun emplacements. Batterij Aachen is a First World War bunker complex in a rolling dune landscape with sea views.

Dunes, polders and routes for active days

The Provinciedomein Atlantikwall Raversyde is also a nature area close to the sea. Its varied landscape is ideal for walking and cycling. The Oosteroever also offers walks in the dunes with sea views. A free ferry connects the centre of Oostende, more precisely the Visserskaai at the level of the Noordzeeaquarium, with the Oosteroever at the Maritiem Plein in just a few minutes. This is a practical way to include both sides in your daily itinerary.

Those who prefer travelling through quiet landscapes can choose the “Oostendse kreken” walking route. It leads through the historic creek area and the polders southeast of Oostende. For a longer cycling tour, the 29-kilometre Hoeveroute through the surrounding area of Oostende and along Oostende’s farms is a good option. The Tuinen van Stene complement this landscape perspective: the 35-hectare food, landscape and agricultural park is located in a historic polder landscape.

Discover Oostende to suit your holiday

For a trip with children, Fort Napoleon’s adapted tour can be a specific item on your itinerary. Those who prefer to explore history independently can visit the Amandine museum ship without a guide. The Kusttram is an affordable and pleasant way to reach attractions, events and shops in Oostende. The Ostend Coast Greeters also offer free introductory tours of Oostende accompanied by volunteer city enthusiasts.

For planning a walk, the walking map for the Kustwandelroute is available at the Oostende tourist office at Monacoplein 2, 8400 Oostende. This allows you to decide on site whether you prefer a cultural day, a shorter discovery tour or a longer route through the landscape and polders.

Choose your holiday apartment based on your daily itinerary

When searching for accommodation, you can use the focus of your trip as a guide. For many museum and city visits, it makes sense to plan around the attractions in central Oostende and the connections provided by the Kusttram. If you mainly want to experience dunes, sea views, cycling routes or polder landscapes, these destinations should play a correspondingly important role when choosing your base. The ferry to the Oosteroever expands the options for a varied holiday without requiring you to commit to just one type of excursion.

You can find more location ideas for planning your trip at Raversijde and Zandvoorde.

To the main travel overview: West Flanders.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Zedelgem, Nieuwpoort, Kortemark, Ichtegem, Wevelgem, Oostkamp.