La Nonne Blanche

La Nonne Blanche is a small, budget-friendly bed and breakfast in Kerkstraat, in the heart of the old centre of Ostend. It sits a short walk from the Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk, with the beach and the Zeedijk promenade about five minutes away on foot and the shopping streets, the Visserskaai and the Casino-Kursaal all within easy reach.

The rooms are modern and simply furnished, in warm colours, with a comfortable double bed, an en-suite bathroom with a shower, a flat-screen television with cable and sports channels, and fast Wi-Fi. Each room has a coffee corner and a small seating and work area, and all the rooms are non-smoking. It is the kind of straightforward, central base that suits a weekend by the sea, a cultural day out or a night before an early train, without the price of a seafront hotel.

On the ground floor is the lunch restaurant Carte Blanche, handy for a bite before you head out. Private parking can be arranged for an extra charge, which is worth booking ahead in this busy part of town, and Bruges is a short train ride away for a day trip.