Bicycle routes
The “Krekedal” cycle tour and the old mill cycle tour pass through Handzame. The old mill cycle tour will take you to 4 beautiful mills along quiet country roads. Before the 1st World War there were 27 mills in Kortemark-Handzame. The route of 37 km runs over flat land. The Krekedal cycle tour takes you to three geographical zones: the polders, the sandy soil region and the sandy loam region. The Krekebeek brook is part of the Eastern spur of the Ijzer river and meanders through the landscape.
Excursions
The historic centre of Bruges or the battlefields of the first World War are 30 minutes away from Handzame.
From the 13th to the 15th century Bruges was the junction between the Hanseatic cities from the far North, England and Germany, and the important trading places in Italy, France and Spain. A visit to Bruges takes you along the reitjes (canals) and the brickstone houses of Bruges' golden age.
From 1914 to 1918 the Westhoek was the scene of world war I. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers wth more than 20 nationalities died in the Ypres Salient (the first gas attacks of 1915, the third battle of Ypres-Passchendale in 1917) and the Yser front (Diksmuide). Today the Westhoek region with the "In Flanders Fields" Museum in Ieper, the death trenches in Diksmuide, and the countless military cemeteries and war monuments wants to be a living testimony of the horror of modern warfare and a beacon for peace all over the world.
For the children: the coast and the polders
The coast between Newport and De Panne has a lot to offer. An invigorating walk, a wonderful sand beach, a nice dinner or a refreshing ice cream on the seaside promenade. The Flemish coast has it. The wide sand beach lures thousands of families every year. Children build sandcastles and play in the sea water.
The Westhoek is a surprising region with vast polders and green slopes. This part of West Flanders, contained between the ' Schreve ' (the border with France) and the North Sea offers several recreational zones and natural parks such as The Palingbeek, De Gasthuis forests and the Kemmelberg. Today it is an authentic region with a wide horizon, picturesque towns (Furnes, Ypres), theme parks Plopsaland and Bellewaerde, restaurants with fine French food and wine.