Boulevard de Ruyter

The Boulevard de Ruyter is Vlissingen's defining public space: a 1.5-km promenade running along the top of the sea dike, with the Western Scheldt below and the historic town behind. The view takes in the shipping lane (container ships, tankers, the occasional cruise vessel), the Belgian coast on a clear day, and the lighthouse marking the harbour entrance.

It is the place to feel the weather. In a westerly gale, spray clears the dike and breaks across the road. In summer evenings the boulevard's many cafe terraces fill with locals watching the sun set into the sea — Vlissingen is one of the few places on the European mainland where you can see the sun drop directly into the Atlantic.

things to do sight
A story
The Boulevard sits atop a six-metre sea wall holding back the Western Scheldt. From the bench at the western end, on a clear day, you can count more than twenty large ships an hour passing inbound or outbound from Antwerp — one of the world's busiest stretches of working sea.