Royal Galleries

The Royal Galleries (Koninklijke Gaanderijen) are a long, covered colonnade on the seafront, built in the early 1900s for King Leopold II so that the royal family could walk from their chalet to the Wellington racecourse sheltered from wind and rain. They were designed by Charles Girault, the French architect of the Petit Palais in Paris, and remain one of the grandest pieces of Belle Époque architecture on the Belgian coast.

After decades of decay, the first restored section along the sea reopened in July 2026 after about ten months of work, and the city has said it will stay open to the public. It is a lovely place to walk, with the rhythm of columns on one side and benches looking straight out over the beach on the other. Work on the second section has been paused to protect nesting birds.

The galleries frame the Art Deco Thermae Palace hotel and lead towards the racecourse, so combine a stroll here with the Venetian Galleries, where Mu.ZEE is temporarily showing its art, and a walk back along the promenade to the centre. Free and always open.