3 Best Sights in Koksijde, Bruges and the Coast

On the southern edge of Koksijde are the ruins of the Cistercian Duinenabdij (Abbey of the Dunes), founded in 1107 and destroyed by the iconoclasts in 1566. Traces of the original abbey, the cloisters, and columns from the refectory remain. An adjacent archaeological museum shows collections from the digs, as well as interesting examples of regional plants and animals.

A few minutes' walk east from the abbey, on Kerkplein, the strikingly modern architecture of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Duinenkerk (Our Lady of Sorrows of the Dunes Church), suggests both the dunes and the sea through bold colors, undulating forms, and stained glass. A crypt holds the remains of the first abbot of the abbey.

Koksijde's stretch of the Belgian coast is another expanse of white sand, popular with families. There are orientation poles here at regular intervals, each with a different brightly colored figure on top, designed to be easily recognizable wayfinders for lost children. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

Art lovers will want to head for nearby Sint-Idesbald---effectively a western suburb of Koksijde---to discover the Paul Delvaux Museum in a reconverted Flemish farmhouse. It is dedicated to the painter, famous for his Surrealist mix of nudes, skeletons, and trains, who died in 1994 at the age of nearly 100. This collection has work from the various stages of Delvaux’s career, including his later, somewhat eerie female nudes.