Hidden Belgium: De Normandie

Hidden Belgium: De Normandie

You pass some strange and beautiful places on the coast tram. But possibly the strangest building can be spotted just outside the beach town of Koksijde. Built in 1935, it looks like a ship washed ashore in the dunes.

Modelled on the glamorous transatlantic liner De Normandie, the stranded ship has two funnels, a deck and a row of portholes. But it is made of concrete.

De Normandie is now a smart restaurant where you can eat plates of seafood that include shrimps caught by horseback fishermen in nearby Oostduinkerke.

Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.


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