Brigitte Becue Swimming Pool

When the North Sea is too cold, or the red flag is up, Ostend’s city swimming pool is a good plan B. Named after the Belgian swimmer Brigitte Becue, it has a 50-metre competition pool, a 25-metre teaching pool and, more importantly for families, a 250 m² indoor leisure area.

The leisure pool has an interactive 70-metre slide, a family slide, a climbing wall over the water, sprays and waterfalls. Adults can retreat to the outdoor jacuzzis or the sauna, and there is a bar in the wet area. Under-fours swim free and children’s tickets are cheap.

Accessibility is excellent: there are pool hoists at the sports and teaching pools, fully adapted changing rooms, the pool’s own wheelchairs for the wet area, a lift, disabled parking underground and floor guidance for visually impaired visitors. The leisure pool opens in the late afternoon on weekdays in term time and from the morning in the school holidays and at weekends, so check the timetable before you go.