Slowly, the sun is starting to show itself more. The temperature is creeping up a little bit and it is putting me in a pre-summer mood (yes, I know it’s only just spring!). Something that fits with all of this is the beach. Over the last two years I’ve visited many different spots at the Belgian coastline. All of them are situated in the same country, but all so clearly different from each other. Whether you are looking for a place to lay at the beach and relax or if you want to go to the best of the best beach club – Belgium has a place for you! I’ll spend a couple of blog posts on Belgian cities situated at the coast the upcoming time. First up: Knokke.
Knokke is situated in the north of Belgium, up against the Dutch borderline. Knokke is a truly unique location in comparison to any other beach town in Belgium. I don’t know about you, but when I go to the beach I at least expect people laying around on their towels in the sand. You also go for a swim, get an ice cream at a stand or buy some fries perhaps at the pier. All of this goes a little different at Knokke. I would describe my day there as “a beach day with flair”. The coastline is lined with beach clubs and rental parlours for beds to lay down on the beach. Yes, you can definitely enjoy the beach in style here!
When I visited Knokke together with a friend in 2014, we sat at one of the great beach clubs with some wine (and delicious free popcorn). A glass of wine was approximately 4-5EUR, so definitely not super cheap but the location is stunning! And if you enjoy “watching people” while enjoying the sun, any of the beach clubs are great locations 😉 (I mean, why were some women wearing incredibly high heels at the beach?). The tapas platters we saw pass by looked amazing as well, so if you have a little more to spend you might want to combine that glass of wine or beer with a lovely afternoon bite!
Another thing I love about Knokke is that it is so close to the Dutch border. If you want you can easily visit two countries in one afternoon. There is a variety of places which let you rent bikes for a couple of hours. There is a trail through the dunes and the nature reserve which leads to Cadzand in The Netherlands. It’s approximately 10km so very well do-able. It’s a nice way to explore a bit of the surroundings and to make your day a little more active.
The top sign reads “Nederland 2.7 km” – 2.7km till The Netherlands!
Doesn’t the beach club look amazing?
