How charming can a station building be? The little tram station in De Haan is a perfect example of the very attractive Anglo-Norman style that is so typical of the Belle Époque architecture on the coast. Feel free to come inside, the tourist information point could not be better located. The building dates from 1902 when a steam tram still ran between Ostend and Blankenberge, the so-called ‘Tram Line of the Dunes’. The station had a waiting room, sanitary facilities, a room for the station master with a ticket office, a luggage room, a coal storage room and a water tank in the attic for supplying the steam tram. This iconic gem was in a sorry state in 1977, prompting the municipality to buy the building for one symbolic Belgian franc. A full restoration followed in 2002.
