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Oostende Tourist Material

Originally a tiny fishing village, the city of Oostende received its city charter in the 13th century and now has a population of 91,000 consumers, the largest population on the Belgian coast. Set half way along the 40 mile Belgian coastline, it became common as a resort within the 19th century, when Kings Leopold I and II spent their summers there. Through Planet War II the city was badly bombed.The city is protected from the North Sea by a series of substantial dikes constructed in the late 14th century. Nevertheless, the city oftentimes fell victim to invading armies. Its importance as a harbour rose in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a railway link to Brussels was constructed in 1838. In 1846 it became a transit harbour to England, sending its initially ferry boat to Dover. At this time, a huge selection of passengers travel in between Oostende and England in a space of just two hours, which makes it a superb weekend resort for British travellers.Named &apos;The Queen on the Belgian sea-side Resorts, Oostende boasts a extended and sandy beach and is really a favorite beach resort for locals as well as visitors to Belgium, a good number of of whom come to surf and sail. The old town and fishing harbour are preferred attractions, and Oostende has substantially to give in the method of shopping, eating and entertainment.Areas of interest:The twin-towered church of St Peter &amp;amp; Saint Paul, close to the railway station, is usually a neo-gothic building built of sandstone in 1904-5. It houses the mausoleum of Queen Louise-Marie, Belgium&apos;s first Queen, who died in 1850 in Oostende.The &apos;Fort Napoleon&apos;, north of your city centre, is the only Napoleonic fortress still intact inside the whole of Europe. Constructed by Napoleon for the duration of the French occupation in 1810 and completed in 1812, it housed 260 soldiers. Within the Second Globe War it was used as a German barracks.Amongst Oostende and Middelkerke, near the beach, lies a huge group of dunes known as the &apos;Raversijde Domain&apos;, which is usually a natural nature reserve. Here also is the &apos;Atlantikwall&apos;, a complex of tunnels and bunkers built by occupying German troops inside the First and Second World Wars. Nearby is also an archaeological site of a medieval fishing village from 13th to 15th centuries.For garden lovers, the Japanese Garden in the Koningspark is worth a visit and can be found opposite the swimming baths, near the sea wall.Things to do:A walk along the splendidly clean and unspoilt beach, with a swim or paddle in the sea, is one of Oostende&apos;s pleasantest activities, but there are plenty of further activities within the centre and close to Oostende.Oostende has several buying centres, including the traffic-free Kappellestraat, Adolf Buylstraat and Witte Nonnestraat. Also, at the Alfons Pieterslaan and the Torhoutsesteenweg you can shop all year round. Market day in Oostende is on Thursdays on the Wapenplein, Groentemarkt and Mijnplein.For those interested in history and culture, Oostende has several museums and galleries to visit. The Museum of Local History holds collections from the Neolithic and Roman times, a maritime section and sections on the two globe wars. The Museum of Fine Arts holds works from the Belgian Masters, and at the Museum of Modern Art you can see a wide range of paintings, sculptures and objects from Belgium&apos;s recent history. Other places are the Museum Sint-Pieterstoren, the Museum of Religious Arts, the North Sea Aquarium and the Schooner Mercator which is really a former Merchant Navy training ship now restored as a nautical museum. James Ensor House is where the famous impressionist painter lived.One with the most favorite areas for families with children is the Maria Hendrika Park. Here you will find minigolf, rowing and pedal boats, playgrounds and woodland walks. Refreshments are available at the caf&amp;eacute;.You can also take a horse-drawn carriage tour around the city, where you will be shown the interesting sights with the city.Food &amp;amp; Drink:Whatever kind of food or restaurant you are looking for you are likely to find it here. Oostende has plenty of restaurants, cafes, bars and taverns both within its lively city centre, and along the promenade. Wherever you go, you will find kiosks selling mussels, fresh fish restaurants, and the ice cream is not to be missed.There are several bars selling real ale, including the Caf&amp;eacute; Botteltje and the Ostens Bierhuus. Oostende also features a selection of English style pubs.One from the most popular restaurants in the city is the James Tavern in James Ensor Galerij 34, off Vlaanderenstraat. In its friendly atmosphere, you can sample a wide range of local cuisine, including their specialty, garnaalkroketten, or shrimp croquettes.Of course, Oostende&apos;s best-loved food is fresh fish, and you do not have to look too far to find a wide choice of locations specialising in seafood. One of the best fish restaurants is the Old Fisher on the Fisherman&apos;s Wharf. This has a relaxed but elegant atmosphere where you can sample a wide range of local fresh fish dishes. Another fish restaurant is the David Dewaele, a family-run restaurant serving French cuisine and fish fresh from the North Sea.Hotels &amp;amp; AccommodationAlpha Hotel

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Regardless of being one on the smallest countries inside the European Union, Belgium is in the top rated ten biggest trading nations worldwide. Its strength in exports and freight services is partly because of its central location and also a perform force that is of above typical productivity. With its central strategic location, Belgium is an important gateway amongst Europe as well as the world and the freight forwarding sector has evolved to capitalise on this significant asset of central place. Surrounded by Germany, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg, at the same time as being incredibly close to Fabulous Britain, Belgium is in the heart of a consumer market place produced up of some 454 million consumers, so it truly is a single on the leading centres for international freight.Too as freight services, its extraordinary strategic location has also led to Belgium acquiring an essential position in international politics, using the European Union, NATO and more than 1000 international organisations getting their base in Belgium.There has been a outstanding development of trade and international freight transport from Bruges, Antwerp along with the Walloon industrial basins which has its roots appropriate back within the middle ages. It was in the 14th century that Antwerp started to create as a port and today it truly is the fourth largest port on the planet plus the second biggest port in Europe. Antwerp presents brief transit occasions to all of the world&apos;s most important destinations. In 2007, almost 17,000 ships carrying cargo of over 180 million tonnes docked in Antwerp. Antwerp can also be the fastest expanding port for container transport within the Hamburg - Le Havre range. As well as sea ports at Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ostend, Liege, Brussels, and Ghent, Belgium has also established an effective freight transport infrastructure created up of motorways, railways and waterways.Belgium&apos;s substantial inland waterway network, that is more than 1500 kilometres lengthy, connects the key Belgian sea ports to Europe&apos;s inland waterways, which are another critical facility for shipping businesses. Belgium&apos;s key rivers, the Scheldt plus the Maas, and their connecting canals and tributaries, cover the whole country.This really is the second largest method of waterways in Europe and provides extremely effective transport for freight forwarding that may be each environmentally friendly and cost-efficient for the shipping enterprise or freight firm.Belgium has a long background of investment in its international freight infrastructure and shipping corporations. Its strong logistics and freight forwarding networks normally rank highly in international surveys. It was a single in the very first countries in Europe to utilize trains and it soon constructed up the densest railway network in the world. The rail network transports more than 62 million tons of freight every single year, with high speed trains operating as much as ten times per day to London, Cologne, Amsterdam and Paris.Waterways transport has been improved by the creation of boat lifts just like that on the Canal du Centre. The port of Antwerp has built up significant dock yards and locks along with the Berendrecht lock is the largest lock in the world. There can be no less than seven international motorways, covering practically 2000 kilometres, which connect Belgium with France, Germany and also the Netherlands, producing international freight transport straight forward by road for freight companies. Additionally, you will discover over 12,000 kilometres of regional road networks. The airports are also contemporary and efficient. Flight instances to most big cities in Europe are under two hours and some 18 million passengers employed the airport in 2007. In accordance with the Association of European Airlines (AEA) Brussels International Airport is the most punctual airport in Europe. It also gives the fastest turnaround for air freight transport and handled nearly 800,000 tonnes of freight in 2007. The airports of Liege-Bierset, Charleroi, Antwerp and Ostend also serve loads of foreign destinations.With regard to freight services, Belgium has developed the idea of combined transport. Numerous container ports for inland shipping happen to be built and the port of Antwerp has been expanded recently having a tidal container dock, the Deurganck dock, which will allow ships to become dealt with much more immediately. The high speed rail infrastructure to and from Antwerp port is also being extended additional.So Belgium is continuing to consolidate its position as the European bridge to worldwide business enterprise and a planet leader in shipping suppliers and freight transport.

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Trips to European Christmas markets are a well-liked decision for brief breaks. A range of firms provide you with bargains and also you can travel by coach, ferry, rail or air. One particular method to save on the price of your trip would be to book river cruises to Christmas markets. Most Christmas markets do not take place on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve so the cruises are scheduled from the end of November to just just before Christmas. You might want to also check out rates for accommodation at luxury hotels catering towards the enterprise market. These can commonly be really cheap over the Christmas and New Year period and so make an excellent price range extension to a cruise. Christmas markets might be located in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland as well as the UK.Germany has most Christmas markets which date back to the middle ages. Dresden Christmas industry was first held in 1434, but this really is not the earliest industry. Today it attracts over 1.5 million guests and has more than 60 stalls. In most of the markets the stallholders sell handmade products, books, toys, Christmas tree decorations and ornaments. Quite often mulled wine and Eierpunsch (an eggy warm alcoholic drink) are sold in addition to food and there is certainly conventional singing and dancing.Austria has a Christmas industry in every single significant town and city. Vienna alone hosts approximately 25 markets, from the compact to the large. Christmas markets have a extended background in Austria, the December Marketplace in Vienna dates back to 1294. The Schonbrunn Christmas Industry located outside the spectacular Schonbrunn Palace is amongst essentially the most trendy. You will find more than 60 stalls selling wooden Christmas tree decorations, felt, glass, stone, handmade pottery, toys and hand-carved mangers. In addition there are many Austrian specialities to enjoy that include wines, punches and teas from all more than Austria. Graz is also home to various Christmas markets supplying regional farm merchandise, Styrian arts and crafts, hot punch and mulled wine.France has lots of Christmas markets and they&apos;re especially famous with British many people given that they may be effortlessly accessible by means of the Eurostar. They offer fabulous shopping opportunities and also you can stock up on wine for the Christmas season. The items on sale differ determined by the a part of France within which the industry is held. The Lille Christmas market is often a preferred destination. The market is held in the centre from the town and has stalls promoting arts and crafts and regional cuisine. There&apos;s a theatre and games for young children and Father Christmas attends the market place. In a spectacular event on 20th December he &apos;falls&apos; from the 80 metre high Belfry in the Chamber of Commerce.Christmas markets are also preferred in Belgium, again largely resulting from the speedy Eurostar service. The Brussels Winter Wonderland market features a terrific atmosphere with its cheerful lights and tantalising aromas of nearby delicacies. To add to the entertaining there exists an ice-skating rink and the marketplace is held in the ancient and fabulous Grand Spot that is lit up for the occasion. Ostend also boasts an ice-skating rink as well as a excellent array of shops, boutiques and stalls. As Belgium&apos;s largest seaside resort it also presents plenty of evening entertainment and restaurants and bars.Holland has a number of established Christmas markets which is often quickly reached by ferry. The Valkenburg Christmas market is uncommon in that it will take place in a cave. The soft gentle music and twinkling illuminations give a magical feel for the darkness of your Fluweeleengrot (Velvet cave). As you walk by means of its passages you are likely to uncover caverns, decorated niches and stalls featuring Christmas products or old Dutch trades and handicrafts. In the centre of your cave could be the catering garden that serves food as well as the renowned Dutch Christmas drink Gluhwein (sparkling hot wine). There&apos;s an entry charge to this market of EUR4 for adults and EUR1.five for kids over the age of three.Poland has only a couple of Christmas markets, the chief industry getting Krakow. It can be held within the Rynek, a sizable market place square within the heart of the old town. The wooden stalls offer you many different gifts from woollen clothes to jewellery. Other individuals sell neighborhood delicacies. The square is dominated by the ancient Cloth Hall and throughout December you happen to be practically guaranteed snow.

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All of your websites in Kortrijk are effortlessly accessible. Travellers can visit tourist attractions via rental cars or they will travel by train to other major cities in Belgium. Meanwhile, some tourists choose to cycle along the Lys River and to take inside the fresh air and gorgeous view. Essentially, no matter what form of transportation tourists utilize, they will come across an extraordinary abundance of items to perform, see and get pleasure from though staying in Kortrijk, Belgium.

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