From De Haan to Bredene

Belgium has some cozy and bustling coastal towns. This route leads you from Bredene to De Haan, a short route with a high content of festivities. You also drive through the reclaimed hinterland of the coast, an area where it is wonderfully quiet and open. A nice trip to sniff some culture and get a breath of fresh air!

Between Bredene and De Haan you cycle through the hamlet of Vosseslag. It takes its name from the path that local fishermen once used to cross the dunes to the beach. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a golf course for English tourists was built here in the dunes on the initiative of King Leopold II. Vosseslag celebrates the Vosseslag festivities in July every year. The shrimp festivals follow in August, where porters demonstrate how to catch shrimp. The catch is cooked and shared with tourists.

De Haan is best known for the many beautiful villas from the Belle Epoque period. The town has traditionally been a real tourist town. Due to its favorable location on the coast, thousands of tourists are tempted here every year to seek out the sun, sea and beach. Major events take place here, such as the sea dedication in Wenduine, the Day of the Tourist, the Reuzenfeesten and the Vosseslagfeesten. 

After De Haan, one of the oldest polders in Western Europe awaits you. As early as the tenth century, sea walls were erected here to counter the devastating violence of the sea. Those dikes gave the uneven landscape a typical structure that is still visible today. With their canals, ditches and pools, the grasslands form an important breeding and wintering place for many birds.

You start and end the route at Park Merlo in Bredene. You can spend the night here in one of the luxuriously furnished holiday homes or on a camping pitch. The quiet holiday park has all the facilities for a relaxing holiday. You will find, for example, a playground, mini golf, restaurant facilities and a bicycle rental. Not unimportant: the dunes, the beach and the sea are next to the holiday park! You can also drive route 213731 from this cozy location.