The 10 best things to do in Ostend, Belgium

Fact: a human-size whelk (by sculptor Stief Desmet) lurks at the end of the harbour arm. Make the pilgrimage to pose for a selfie, not forgetting to gaze back at the seaport city afterwards. Then slope around the bay to the Visserskaai, the fisherman’s harbour, where locals pick up glistening just-landed plaice and prawns. Here you can watch buckets of the teeny crustaceans being hand-peeled methodically by women in the market, which is open daily. 

For live Flemish music with your Belgian beer, make a beeline for ancient watering hole the Spanish Inn, rebuilt in 1729 but which dates back even further. Or curl up in wood-panelled Café Botteltje to explore its 16 different beers and IPAs on tap, as well as Dutch firewater jenever. In summer (June to Sept), hit the beach bars along the promenade: Bondi Beach is your best shout, with tropical plants, sunny terraces and uber-potent cocktails.

Check out Belgium’s best open-air art gallery, the Crystal Ship, a permanent street art trail featuring dozens of international artists. Download a map online or grab one from the Tourism Ostend office to guide you around the eye-popping ace murals, sculptures and installations. 

Gulp down views over bucolic Leopold Park by whizzing six floors up the austere old post office building, now an ad-hoc Cultural Centre. Nearby contemporary art gallery Mu.ZEE, housed in a former department store, displays atmospheric work by bigwig local artists James Ensor and Léon Spilliaert.

People-watch right on the promenade at Histoires d’O, a standout tapas bar with sunset views, or cosy up in the Groentemarkt at candlelit Wijnbistro diVino for seasonal specials like halibut curry. Over on the harbourside, order the piping hot signature shrimp croquettes at Restaurant Bassin, or satisfy your mussel fix at La Moulinière, whose menu offers 40 variants of the dish. You’re in Belgium, after all, silly.

Most famous rezzie? None other than Marvin Gaye. In 1981, the soul ledge arrived by boat to stay a few weeks – and ended up lingering for 18 months, even penning his uber-hit Sexual Healing here. Download the tourist board’s Midnight Love Tour for a two-hour walkumentary of his haunts before a beer at soul bar Lafayette, where his black-and-white photo adorns the wall. Forget the grapevine: you heard it here first.

It’s all about party street Langestraat for a proper night out, whether that’s a whisky sour or two at the dimly lit Hemingway, live bands at The Manuscript or studenty shenanigans at ‘music café’ The Twilight. There’s a super-friendly LGBTQ scene in the city, too, including the best-named bar in Ostend: Taverne Ding Dong, anyone?

Wind your way down the narrow backstreets behind Visserskaai, and you’ll find burger joint Frituur Franky, with a whopping list of patties Belgian-style, including tasty plant-based options. To up the hipster factor, try street food snacks like kibbeling (fried battered fish with garlic mayo) at slogan-loving industrial corner joint Mommy’s Bastards. 

It’s a totally walkable city, so stick to the seafront area for your stay. One street behind is Hotel Upstairs, whose imposing black façade conceals an industrial interior, with a warehouse-style bar, living wall and even a yellow tunnel slide in the lobby, which kids love. Bedrooms have little balconies and twisty-head sea views: best of all, it’s a 5-minute stumble from the heart of the action, Langestraat. 

Well-heeled and tranquil De Haan is just a fifteen-minute drive away. Hire a bike and cycle around the posh residential area The Concession, gawping at the Belle Epoque villas built by the mega-wealthy. Then stroll the relaxed promenade, where couples cycle on tandems, organ grinders delight kids, and restaurants do a brisk trade in – yep – moules.