Guides to Ostend

Ostend’s fashion is independent boutiques in the streets near the Wapenplein, and – more unusually – shops that club together to stage their own fashion shows in spring and autumn.

Ostend is a seaside town, so Sunday is a normal shopping day here. Here is what’s open on a Sunday — the shopping streets, the chocolate shops, the flower market and where to buy groceries.

Skip the fridge magnets. From babelutten and sea-themed pralines to seaweed charcuterie and lighthouse ceramics, here is what is actually worth bringing home from Ostend, and where to buy it.

Ostend has a market most days of the week, from the big Thursday and Saturday market on the Wapenplein to the Sunday flower market and the daily fish market on the harbour. Here is when and where to go.

From Ostend’s own award-winning chocolatier to the big praline houses on the squares, here is where to buy Belgian chocolate in Ostend — and the coast sweets worth taking home instead.

Ostend’s shops sit in a compact cross of mostly car-free streets around the Wapenplein. Here is a walk down them, with independent favourites, market days and how Sunday works.

Ten places for cocktails and small plates in Ostend, from a late-night tiki bar by the Kursaal to sharing plates by the station and a wine bar on the harbour.

Royal colonnades, belle époque villas, a modernist post office and the city’s best-loved statues: a self-guided tour of Ostend’s monuments and the stories behind them.

Ten places to slow down in Ostend, from a private sauna fourteen floors above the harbour to a walk-in public sauna, day-spa rituals and shiatsu.

Ten places for fish and seafood in Ostend, from fine dining on the harbour to mussels on the Visserskaai and fresh grey shrimp at the Vistrap.