Ostend · BE

Strand Oostende

Ostend Beach, known locally as Strand Oostende, is the wide, bustling city beach that lies along the Albert I-promenade in Oostende, Belgium — the North Sea resort long nicknamed the "Queen of Seaside Resorts." Here the sand begins almost the moment you leave the centre, framed by a lively seafront of cafés, shops, fish stalls and grand Belle Époque landmarks such as the Royal Galleries and the Thermae Palace. The beach runs for roughly seven kilometres and averages about 80 metres wide, so even at the height of summer there is room to sunbathe, stroll or simply watch the grey-green waves. Its real magic is the combination of a proper sea-and-sand day with everything a historic fishing town offers — a market, a casino, street art, sculpture on the dijk and some of the best shellfish on the Flemish coast — all within a short walk of one another.