The most beautiful beach town in Belgium, De Haan, is located in West Flanders and you won’t get enough of the sun and swimming here. The most important and impressive characteristic of the town is the architecture of the white villas framing the streets that joins modernism with nostalgic sentiments. Buildings in this town are not permitted to be more than 5 stories high. Back in the day French was spoken as the aristocratic language in the De Haan that today serves tourism with its restored villages.. You can easily get around in the centre of De Haan, which has only a diameter of one kilomentre, by either walking or cycling. If you want to use public transport, the most effective and preferred network of transport, the tram service, can take you all the way from the French border to the Dutch. The most interesting parts of the town is between the tram line and the beach area. Other places worth a visit are the sand dunes near the village of Wenduine that are 30 metres high, a historic windmill from 1880, and many nature reserves where you can go for some nice walks.
The most famous visitor in De Haan history is probably Albert Einstein. The famous scientist escaped Hitler’s Germany in 1933 and lived in De Haan for 6 months. It’s not possible to tour the Villa Savoyarde, Einstein’s home during that period, since it is private property, however it is possible to get a picture taken with the statue on the street of the residence.
If you want to travel to Belgium with a flight then the closest airport, Ostend-Bruges International Airport, is 18 kilometres away. You can use the tram service, shuttles services, or taxis for transport from the airport.