The Belgian coast: Zwin to the Westhoek dunes

Route description

Belgium’s coast is only 67 km long, and a coastal tram, the longest tram line in the world, runs its full length from Knokke-Heist to De Panne. The N34 runs parallel to it, busy in summer with paid parking everywhere. Start at the Zwin, a salt marsh on the Dutch border that floods with each tide, where a visitor centre explains the birds and there is a stork colony.

Drive inland to Damme, a small medieval town on a tree-lined canal that was once the seaport of Bruges. In summer a paddle steamer makes the 7 km trip along the canal to Bruges, and the towpath is a pleasant cycle ride. Spend the rest of the day in Bruges itself, then drive to Ostend, 25 km, a larger resort and fishing port with a long seafront promenade.

West of Ostend, the Atlantikwall Raversyde open-air museum keeps German bunkers, trenches and gun positions from both world wars in the dunes. Continue to Nieuwpoort, where the King Albert I Memorial stands by the locks that were opened in October 1914 to flood the Yser plain and stop the German advance. The viewing gallery looks out over the harbour and the old front line.

Finish at De Panne next to the French border, where the Westhoek nature reserve protects a large area of wild, shifting dunes. The wide beach is also used for sand yachting. Summer on the coast is busy and expensive; spring and early autumn are calmer, and the sea views are better outside the peak weekends.