OSTEND
Its beach may be most popular in summer, but lively art and culture scenes make this Belgian seaside city a year-round destination
Author: Stephen Emms
Its beach may be most popular in summer, but lively art and culture scenes make this Belgian seaside city a year-round destination
The seaside city of Ostend is something of a curiosity. It was heavily bombed in the Second World War, and now its architecture juxtaposes Belle Époque-era townhouses and mid-century apartment blocks. There’s the occasional oddity, like the neo-classical Royal Galleries, a seafront arcade, or modernist Kursaal, Europe’s largest casino. And happily, some older dwellings have survived, too. Take the Spanish Inn, a live music bar with a gabled roof. This is one of the city’s earliest buildings, las...