Kunstmuseum aan Zee
Created after the 2008 merger of the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Modern Art Museum and the Museum voor Schone Kunsten Museum of Fine Arts. Also known as Mu.ZEE.
Leopold Park
The Leopold Park was set out in 1860 on the old city walls in British style, with ponds, paths and flowerbeds. The first park regulations gave free access to tourists, but local residents had to pay. The beautiful bandstand was inaugurated in 1885. The best-known statue of Oostende, called The Sea, but there is not one person who calls it that. Nearly everyone remembers the statue only by its popular name âDikke Mathilleâ - âFat Mathildeâ. There even is a âDikke Mathilleâ beer that you can taste in local pubs. Near the Fat Mathilde on the right hand side is the famous Floral Clock created from 20.000 flowers and plants. It has a diameter of 9 metres, the hands are 3 and 4 metres long and weigh 70 and 90 kilos. The date, made entirely of flowers, is reset every day during the summer months.
Museumschip
Sits in a dry basin on a plastic "sea" as a museum of the history and traditions of Ostend's Icelandic fishery.
Sint-Petrus-en Pauluskerk
This vast, neo-Gothic church from 1907 has a suite of stained-glass windows and a memorial chapel dedicated to Belgium's first queen, Marie-Louise of Orleans, who died in Ostend in 1850.
Driemaster Mercator
Formerly a Belgian merchant marine training ship, this three-masted schooner is now a floating maritime museum. It has a length of more than 78 meters and a width of 11 meters. This beautiful ship is really worth a visit. Great for kids as well.
James Ensorhuis
The house where Anglo-Belgian artist James Ensor lived from 1916 has been restored and transformed into a museum of his life. Studio and lounge on the second floor. Only reproductions are displayed.
Oostends Historisch Museum De Plate
Housed in King Leopold's restored, 19th century summer residence, the museum holds displays of Neolithic and Roman objects excavated in the vicinity and exhibits depicting Oostend traditional dress, folklore, and history. There's a re-created fisherman's pub, a fisherman's home, and an old tobacco store.
Noordzeeaquarium
Small aquarium with a collection of fish, mollusks, shell, and crustaceans from the nearby waters of the North Sea. Popular with children.