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Anyone stayed around the Belgium Coast? Looking for a nice place to stay for a few days on our way back from Holland.
The Belgian coast is ... hmmm, what's a word that people use on STW to describe something that's a bit crap? Ah yes. Hateful. I went to Blankenberg (sp?) once. By boat as it happens, I wouldn't have gone there otherwise. It is very aptly named. Rows of concrete high-rise buildings along the coast. A bit better in the town. But 5 miles inland is one of Europe's jewels aka Bruges. So I'd advise looking inland. Bruges would do nicely.
Bruges was the original stop, but as its not far to the coast thought we'd stop there and cycle into bruge. Maybe not đŸ™‚
Are you taking Bikes, Stay near Oudenaarde and ride some of the cobbled climbs from the Tour Of Flanders...
Dehann is nice.
On the coast but easy to go to Bruges.
We used to stay at the Sunpark. Identical to Centre park but A LOT cheaper.
De Hann certainly looks nicer than Blankenberge:
don't know about the coast but I think Belgium is a fantastic place to visit. they have it good there and it flies a little under the radar it think
Veurne; just off the motorway, achingly pretty, handy for the coast and good start for any Western Front exploring you might want to do
I love Belgium. Cycling round it is utter bliss. Route finding is ridiculously easy.
Go here -Â http://www.fietsroute.org/cycling/belgium
Go to the maps and plot a route, then print it. You get a series of numbers. Every intersection has a number and a signpost to the next numbered intersections. It’s literally cycling by numbers. I plotted nearly 300 miles round Belgium on one piece of A4 paper and only got a bit lost once. No maps at all. Never needed one.
Couple of the other posters have it nailed.
De Haan is the town to go to, and what PeterPoddy says about the fietsroutes is spot on. There's also a dead handy tram that runs the length of the coast, and sandy beaches from Holland to France, with brief breaks for port entrances. It's lovely.
As others have said De Hann is quite a nice sea front and small enough. Pancake flat ride into Bruges, the biggest hills are the humpback bridges over the canal.
We did it the other way round, after a couple of hard days ridding the cobbles, we stayed in Bruges and did a circular route to De Hann and back. Lovely quiet lanes and a long section by the side of the canal all the way into Bruges
yes always took my bike there .
first year cycled from Calais to De hann and then more cycling when there ,
second year , cycled to Bruges , got lost , phone died , took wrong turn , ended up at dutch boarder , followed the sea front back to De Hann . took hours against the wind .
wife was not happy .
cyclocross ( gravel ) bike is best , there is a mtb trail in some woods in De hann .
Have stayed in Ostend a few years ago, did day trips to Ypres and Bruges while we were there. There is also the coastal tram line which runs from De Panne to Knokke-Heist to help you get along the coast.
And most places have several cafes like Cafe Botteltje - where they have a menu of 2-400 different beers available (all with their own glass)
Sun Parks in De Haan is a good safe bet for accommodation. Very good value. It is a bit like a faded Centreparks.
Handy for getting on to the dunes by foot, Seafront Tram stops nearby, handy for DeHaan and only a short distance out of Bruges by bike or car.
Had many happy family holidays there as a kid in the 90s. Went back last year as an adult and it was still quite fun.
The actual coast is the same, virtually from France up to Zeebrugge - rows of flats/apartments, 5 to 8 storeys high virtually all the way.
However, slightly inland (2/3 streets back), there are the 'old' towns/villages, which many still have squares with cafes etc.
As above Ostend is nice, we like De Panne, just near the French border. A lovely open market square with numerous bars/cafes around.