Advantages: Good base for exploring, good selection of shops, bars and restaurants. Disadvantages: Not as pretty as some other places. Building work is a problem at the moment.
...and people watch.
~~~THINGS TO SEE.
Wandering along the promenade in the sunshine was wonderful! We also enjoyed looking at some of the posh boats and yachts in the marina and looking at the fishing boats and the ships with rigging that were moored in the harbour. There is a North Sea Aquarium, some art galleries (the impressionist James Ensor came from Ostende), a museum, a stunning main square with water features and sculptures, a Gothic church and a casino (the Kursaal). Most visitors are there for the beach and to use Ostende as a base for exploring the surrounding cities and countryside.
~~~CONCLUSION.
Ostende is lovely and we had a really enjoyable stay there. It isn’t as pretty or interesting as Bruges or Ghent, but it is a nice place for a relaxing seaside break. It is ideally situated for getting around the area...
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Advantages: English is widely spoken;Nice beaches;Clean; Disadvantages: Some items are expensive. Wide use of the Euro
...convenient with the rail station- if you want to go to Bruges ,Bruxelles,or Liege- and the tram stops where you can conveniently catch the tram to take you along the pleasant coast line-all nicely integratd at the terminal. Oh how I wish that was the case in Dover where both the Eastern and Western Docks are a considerable distance away from the Dover rail station whilst the Stagecoach bus services only go to the Western Docks.
Accommodations in Ostend- or Oostende in the local lingo- are very reasonably priced-I stayed in a two star hotel for only around 17 pounds and even if you want to move to a 3 star...
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Advantages: Very centrally placed Disadvantages: Noisy side street!!!
...I've just returned from a 7 day holiday with WA Shearings (see my other reviews for opinions on Shearings) staying at the Hotel Ostend. We stayed for 6 nights on a half board basis (July 30th- Aug 5th).
The hotel has a website: http://www.hotelostend.be/
For anyone travelling independently, you can check and book reservations online. The website also has a photo- guided tour of the hotel.
The hotel is quite centrally placed. It's pretty much over the road from the beach (about 50m away.....but down a side street so you can't see the sea!) near to the marina. I'd say it was a medium sized hotel offering 122 en-suite rooms (some family rooms too) with a fairly large restaurant, a small bar (called the Safari bar and decorated in rather fetching tiger and zebra print!) It also has a children's room next to the bar which has a bouncy...
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30.06.2004
24.01.2001
