Glamping Universe

You can fill days in medieval Bruges (half an hour’s drive), but if you have limited time, head for the exquisite Basilica of the Holy Blood to admire its spectacularly colourful interior, take a cruise around the canals, and clamber up 366 steps to the top of the belfry for stunning views over the city rooftops. As well as touring the formal Leopoldpark gardens and the ornate cathedral in Ostend (25 minutes), you can languish on the vast expanse of sandy beach (catch the Sand Sculpture Festival from late June to the end of September) and follow an interactive trail around 1809’s Fort Napoleon. For more history, make for Ypres (55 minutes) to learn about the atrocities of World War I at the interactive In Flanders Fields Museum, before attending the daily Last Post Ceremony at the marble Menin Gate. Step back further in time at the former Roman outpost of Oudenburg (five minutes), where exhibits in the Roman Archaeological Museum include armour fragments and skeletons excavated nearby.