Belgium · North Sea Coast
Ostend
Belgium's queen of the seaside: a royal promenade, a fishing harbour and James Ensor's home town.
Ostend is the largest town on Belgium's short North Sea coast, a working fishing port that became the royal seaside resort of the 19th century. A long promenade runs above a wide sandy beach, the harbour still lands grey shrimp and fish, and the town is the home ground of the painter James Ensor, whose house and work you can see here. Bruges is a quarter of an hour away by train, and the coastal tram links it to every resort from France to the Dutch border.
Suggested stay
2–3 days
Language
Dutch, French
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+2
Why you'll love Ostend
The promenade a long seafront walk above wide sand, from the harbour mouth to Leopold II's royal colonnades
Grey shrimp tiny North Sea shrimp landed in the harbour and eaten fresh, in croquettes or stuffed into tomatoes
James Ensor the masked, carnival world of Ostend's great painter, in his house and in the town's art museum
Easy reach Bruges by train and the whole Belgian coast by tram, without needing a car
Best time to visit
Apr-Oct
13-22° days
51.226° N, 2.920° E
UTC+2 · Europe/Brussels
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Weather & when to go to Ostend
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Apr-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Ostend
January is the month to skip: cold, wet and windblown, with the seafront at its greyest. July and August bring the best weather and the biggest crowds, when the beach and the coastal tram are packed with day-trippers.
Top things to do in Ostend
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Zeedijk promenade - walk the seafront
scenic 👍 PopularThe broad seafront promenade runs for kilometres above the beach, lined with apartment blocks, the Kursaal casino and terraces. Walk it west from the harbour pier towards the Royal Galleries for the classic Ostend stroll.
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Mu.ZEE - Ensor and Spilliaert at the art museum
culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedOstend's art museum holds the strongest collection of Belgian art by the sea, with major rooms of James Ensor and the moody, near-empty seascapes of Leon Spilliaert, the town's other great painter.
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James Ensor House - the painter's home
culture arts historyEnsor lived and worked above his family's shell and souvenir shop in the town centre. The house keeps his salon and the shop below, with a visitor centre that explains his masks, skeletons and carnival crowds.
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Vistrap - shrimp and fish stalls on the harbour
food 👍 PopularThe fish stalls along the harbour quay sell grey shrimp, whelks, fish soup and seafood to eat standing up by the boats. Inland, the town's restaurants make shrimp croquettes their signature.
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Raversyde Atlantikwall - wartime bunkers in the dunes
history ⭐ Highly recommendedWest of town in the dunes at Raversyde, an open-air museum preserves a stretch of the Atlantic Wall, with bunkers, gun positions and connecting trenches from both world wars that you walk through.
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Mercator - the training ship in the marina
historyThe three-masted Belgian sail training ship of the 1930s is moored in the marina near the station, and you can go aboard to see the decks, cabins and the souvenirs of its long voyages.
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Fort Napoleon - the French fort in the dunes
historyA pentagonal brick fort built under Napoleon to guard the harbour sits in the dunes on the east bank. Cross the harbour on the small foot ferry to reach it and the quieter beach beyond.
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Royal Galleries and Wellington racecourse - Leopold II's seafront
history culture artsKing Leopold II gave Ostend its grand western seafront, a long covered colonnade running to the racecourse. It is the best surviving piece of the town's royal resort era and a sheltered walk on a windy day.
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Kusttram - ride the coastal tram
scenic 👍 PopularThe coastal tram runs the full length of the Belgian coast through Ostend, one of the longest tram lines in the world. Ride a stretch for dune and resort views or use it to hop between beaches.
Best areas to stay in Ostend
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Town centre
First-time visitors $$Shopping streets, squares and harbour
Explore hotels in Town centre →
Zeedijk seafront
Sea views $$$Sea-view hotels and apartments
Explore hotels in Zeedijk seafront →
Mariakerke
Families $$Quieter western beach district
Explore hotels in Mariakerke →
De Haan
Quiet couples $$$Belle Epoque villas in the dunes
Explore hotels in De Haan →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Ostend
Getting to & around Ostend
Getting there
Fly into Brussels (BRU) and take the train to Ostend station, around 2 hr, or arrive by train from Brussels city
Flight
Brussels Airport (BRU)
Trains run from the airport station to Ostend, usually with a change in Brussels or Ghent, in roughly 2 hours; Ostend station sits beside the marina, a short walk from the centre.
Train
Oostende station
Frequent direct intercity trains from Brussels via Ghent and Bruges, about 1.5 hr from Brussels; Eurostar travellers change at Brussels-Midi
Getting around
Walking
The centre, harbour, station and seafront are all within easy walking distance
Free
Coastal tram
The Kusttram runs along the whole coast, linking Mariakerke, Raversyde and De Haan with the station and centre
TBC
Harbour foot ferry
A small ferry crosses the harbour channel to the east bank for Fort Napoleon and the eastern beach
TBC
Bike
Flat cycle paths run along the coast and inland towards Bruges
TBC
Day trips from Ostend
Bruges
Full dayMedieval canal city
Belgium's best-preserved medieval city is the obvious day out: the Markt and its belfry, the canals, the Groeninge Museum's Flemish masters and an evening walk once the tour groups leave.
Getting there
train
About 15 min by train
Ghent
Full dayUniversity city
A livelier, less touristy city than Bruges, with the Van Eyck Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, the Gravensteen castle and the guildhalls of the Graslei along the river.
Getting there
train
Under 1 hr by train
De Haan
Half dayBelle Epoque resort
A small resort of turreted villas set among dunes, kept to its early 20th-century style, with a quieter beach than Ostend's and good walking along the dune paths.
Getting there
train
About 20 min by coastal tram
Oostduinkerke
Half dayHorseback shrimp fishing
The last place where fishermen still ride heavy draught horses into the surf to drag nets for shrimp, a tradition recognised by UNESCO; demonstrations run in the warmer months, and there is a fishing museum in the village.
Getting there
train
About 1 hr west by coastal tram
Ypres and Flanders Fields
Full dayFirst World War sites
The rebuilt Cloth Hall and In Flanders Fields Museum, the Menin Gate with its evening Last Post, and the cemeteries of the Ypres Salient including Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by car or tour
A little history of Ostend
Ostend began as a fishing village on the eastern end of an island in the coastal marshes, which is where its name, the east end, comes from. It became a fortified port, and from 1601 to 1604 the Dutch-held town withstood a Spanish siege that lasted more than three years and left it in ruins. In the 18th century it was home to the Ostend Company, the Austrian Netherlands' short-lived rival to the Dutch and British East India companies.
In the 19th century the Belgian kings turned it into a fashionable resort. Leopold I summered here, the packet boats to Dover brought English visitors, and Leopold II added the grand seafront colonnades and racecourse. The painter James Ensor was born, worked and died in the town. Both world wars hit hard: the harbour was blocked in a British naval raid in 1918, and in the 1940s the coast was fortified as part of the Atlantic Wall. Marvin Gaye spent a well-known spell living here in the early 1980s.
Ostend receives its town charter
Spanish forces besiege the Dutch-held town for three years before it surrenders
The Ostend Company is chartered to trade with the East Indies and China
King Leopold I begins summering in Ostend, launching its royal resort era
The Belgian state packet service between Ostend and Dover begins
James Ensor is born in Ostend, where he lives and paints until his death in 1949
Leopold II builds the Royal Galleries along the western seafront
A British naval raid sinks the cruiser Vindictive to block the harbour mouth
German occupation; the coast is fortified as part of the Atlantic Wall
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / E
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+32
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
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FAQs about Ostend
▸ When is the best time to visit Ostend?
April to October has the best weather, with July and August the warmest and busiest. January is cold, wet and windy and best avoided. Spring and early autumn are good for walking the promenade and seeing the museums without the summer crowds.
▸ Can you swim in the sea at Ostend?
Yes, in summer, though the North Sea stays cool even in the warmest months. Lifeguards watch marked bathing zones on the main beach in season; outside those zones and outside the season, swimming is not supervised and currents near the harbour mouth are best avoided.
▸ Should I stay in Ostend or Bruges?
They are only about 15 minutes apart by train, so either works as a base. Ostend suits travellers who want the beach, seafood and a working-town feel; Bruges suits those who want to wake up in a medieval centre. Many visitors sleep in one and day-trip to the other.
▸ How do I get to Ostend from Brussels?
Direct intercity trains run frequently from Brussels to Ostend, stopping at Ghent and Bruges, and take about an hour and a half. From Brussels Airport allow around two hours, usually with a change.
▸ What should I eat in Ostend?
Grey shrimp is the local signature, eaten fresh from the harbour stalls, in deep-fried croquettes or stuffed into a tomato. Fish soup, mussels and sole are on most seafood menus, and the stalls along the harbour quay are the easiest place to start.
▸ Is Ostend expensive?
It is in line with Belgium generally, which is moderately expensive by European standards. Sea-view hotels and summer weekends cost the most; the harbour stalls and the town centre are kinder to a tighter budget.
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