Le Châtelet

Ostend


This busy pub-café on Ostend's so-called 'Little Paris' corner was built in 1885. It's a local landmark and a thoroughly atmospheric place to down a beer, have a snack or a light meal, admire the crumbling castle-like magenta facade, or watch the crowds mill by on their way to the beach or beyond.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ostend attractions

1. Shinkaitei Tuin

0.21 MILES

Evolving since 2001, architect Takashi Sawano has faithfully reproduced a Japanese garden just blocks from Ostend's seashore. Come to wander through its…

2. Léopold II Statue

0.26 MILES

Most of the beachfront is overshadowed by 10-storey concrete buildings, but beside the very ‘50s Thermae Palace Hotel there's some respite where a…

3. Belle Epoque-weg

0.26 MILES

This lesser-known residential part of Ostend was once in ill repute, but savvy homebuyers have recently snapped up its wealth of utterly charming art…

4. Mu.Zee

0.29 MILES

Mu.Zee, Ostend’s foremost gallery, features predominantly local artists. There’s a significant collection by symbolist painter Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946)…

5. Statue of Marvin Gaye

0.52 MILES

Soul superstar Marvin Gaye wrote his last hit, 'Sexual Healing', in 1981 while living in Ostend. His residency is marked by a wildly tacky statue of the…

6. Mercator

0.54 MILES

This fully rigged, three-masted 1932 sailing ship was once used for Belgian Navy training purposes and is now a nautical museum that hosts changing…

7. St-Petrus-&-Pauluskerk

0.67 MILES

Ostend’s most striking historical building features beautifully ornate twin spires, a rose window and a gloomy neo-Gothic interior. It was consecrated on…

8. Stadsmuseum

0.75 MILES

One might expect this museum, occupying a house that hosted Napoleon in 1798 and Belgian royals from 1834–1850, to be a little more grandiose and exciting…