The town De Panne is one of the most popular beach resorts in Belgium primarily because of its beach which is the widest in the country and covered in white sand. The town is of great importance in Belgian history as it is here that the first King of Belgium, King Leopold I first set foot in the territory in 1831. It was also the dunes between here and Dunkirk that were the scenes for the evacuation of British troops in WW2 that proved vitally important. Both of these events are honoured in the town with a monument for King Leopold and an interesting World War 2 Museum.
Today it is a popular destination for tourists especially in summer. Aside from the beach itself, the surrounding dunes are the oldest in Europe and make for an interesting setting for a stroll.
My friend Nicole each year loves to stay a week at the Belgian coast, although the weather is not guaranteed at all and it can get pretty cold and rainy no matter when you are going.
Before the high season started she rented a flat on the 3rd floor
It was really nice only there was no lift and we had to climb up the stairs !
It was very modern and we had all we needed, even two bedrooms.
The view towards the town
and the view from the apartment ! There were not many people there and the beach was empty, because it still was quite cool and the summer holidays hadn't started yet.
There was enough for kids to play
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Normally the beach is packed with people laying side by side !
The sea can be very rough, as we had one day ! The waves were as high as a one storage house !
Unfortunately the sea front had been completely demolished, only very few houses are still standing between these modern monsters.
Of course you can make more money with high buildings and a lot of flats then renovate charming little houses ! It's a shame, because the whole Belgian coast looks like this.
Walking along the sea front
These vehicles are called "cuistax" and exist since 1853. You can rent them in all sizes from one to 8 people all along the Belgian coast.
Behind the high buildings along the beach La Panne is a pretty little town, with lovely houses. Very well taken care of and decorated.
Somebody sitting in front of the house ....
modern statue
An overall view
Each afternoon we had a drink or an ice cream at this very comfortable restaurant. I loved the lamps which looked like huge eggs.
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7 comments:
I love the condo but too bad it didn't have a lift. The town is very lovely but I agree that it's a shame all the character was demolished from the beach front to put up high rises. Sadly such demolitiion seems to be going on everywhere.
I love the sculpture of the people with the dog. The old beach front houses look lovely. No lifts in them and yet you are three storeys up and still no lift. Nice post.
A fascinating town!
I never even thought about the fact that there would be beach resort towns in Belgium .... although it should have been obvious. Blogging teaches me so much! The weather sounds a bit like the Oregon Coast - sunny days definitely are not guaranteed at any time of the year (although when you're lucky and get there on a sunny day there is no day more beautiful!) I know what you mean about the high rise modern buildings too! We don't have them so much in Oregon, but on the Atlantic Gulf Coast (Florida and Texas) they are about like what you show -- it surprised us so much when we first went there.
The Apartment looks nice and I believe I could do the stairs for a week -- but wouldn't want to live there much longer than that.
Looks very nice.
At least it looks like you had sun!
Where I live in Da Nang Vietnam, the coast is just beginning to be built up with high-rise resorts - hotels more than apartments, I think. Like La Panne, a few blocks in from the shore is where the real life happens.
Something will have to be done about the beach before it reaches those huge condo towers. Meanwhile, it is lovely indeed.
Kay
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
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