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Province of Belgium
Photo: Johan Bakker, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
West Flanders is one of the five provinces of Flanders in Belgium and the country's westernmost. It encompasses Belgium's entire coastline and thus is a favourite travel destination for Belgians in the summer months. By far the most popular and beloved among tourists is the province's capital, Bruges, thanks to its unique medieval charms. Otherwise, West Flanders is mainly an agricultural and suburban region. There are many open fields between the small towns and villages and the general flatness of the region make it ideal to go on a cycle holiday.
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Het Zwin is a nature reserve near the boundary with the Netherlands. It's the north-most place of the province, and many sea-birds and salt plant species can be found.
De Westhoek is a nature reserve near the boundary with France. It's the west-most place of Belgium. The nature reserve is a lot more "sandy" than Het Zwin, with hard-to-climb dunes. This is the only place in Belgium where your view isn't obstructed with trees, but where it's impossible to see any buildings. Get totally lost in the shifting sand.
The Lange Max was a massive cannon used by the Germans. This cannon in Koekelare served to bomb the French town of Dunkirk.
One of Belgium's most popular theme parks, centred around characters from Studio 100's films and TV series for kids (if you're not from the Benelux or France, you may not have heard of any of these characters!) Also houses a water park, hotel and campsite. Combination tickets with entry to the park and transport by Kusttram (Coast Tram) are available from De Lijn. This is only worth it if you're arriving from somewhere along the tram route as De Panne railway station is less than a kilometre from Plopsaland.
By public transport
There are train lines operated by the NMBS from France (Lille) to Bruges via Courtrai (Kortrijk), and from Brussels and Ghent to Bruges, De Panne and Courtrai.
By boat
The French ports of Calais and Dunkirk are very close to West Flanders, with a good motorway connection to it. They each receive many ferries a day from the English port of Dover.
The Coast Tram (Dutch: De Kusttram) is the longest tram line in the world with 69 stops over a 67 km long track.
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Articles and travel topics about West Flanders and Belgium.
ItinerariesStretching from Knokke to Adinkerke, the Kusttram (Dutch for "Coast Tram") makes it possible to travel almost the entire length of the Belgian coast by tram.
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Culture & historyThe Belfries of Belgium and France are a world heritage site. The site comprises 56 belfries from Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium, and from far northern France.
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Food & drinkThis article is about the beverage. See also Beer (disambiguation).
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Culture & historyHeritage railways (or railroads) are railway operations that are not part of mainstream rail travel. Oriented mostly towards historical railways, heritage train travel is usually short in length; many of these train…
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