The wide North Sea beach is only 20 metres away from the flat. During the summer season, the beach boasts typical beach huts and the promenade is lined with cheerful outdoor cafés. You can practise water sports at surf club “Outside Oostende” or rent bikes or quadricycles, all within walking distance. There are also numerous restaurants, tearooms and shops in the immediate vicinity.
Ostend is a port and terminus by the sea. It boasts trendy shops, cafés and restaurants, fun beach activities, a vibrant nightlife and culture. An ever-changing city with a turbulent and rich past, Ostend is attracting more and more people who become enchanted by its charm. For all information on Ostend, go to Visit Oostende.
Ostend offers a vast range of cultural activities, from pop and jazz music performances through theatre shows and exhibitions to trendy festivals. MuZee exhibits visual arts from 1900 until now, with a focus on James Ensor, Leon Spilliaert, etc. If you like visual arts, you must visit the Ensor House, the Spilliaert House, the Venetian Galleries and several art galleries.

Ostend is also the place where Marvin Gaye withdrew and found inspiration for his world hits, where Belgian singer Arno lives, as well as rockers from all ages who like to go crazy on the local stages. Vrijstaat O, one of the home locations of art centre KAAP, serves jazz, literature and performance programmes with a view of the sea.
De Grote Post is a year-round bustling cultural hotspot where theatre, dance, music and a large café cater to all tastes.Theater Aan Zee is the place to be if you want to enjoy a unique performance, music and literature festival in the middle of summer, organised at diverse locations in the city including Leopold Park.
Ostend is a city with a turbulent past, also in terms of heritage. Because of the two world wars and a construction frenzy in the 1960s, a lot of heritage has disappeared. Fortunately, the city and its surroundings still boast a great deal of amazing gems from the past. The Belle Époque neighbourhood continues to attest to the boom Ostend experienced between the two world wars.