Middelburg

Lange Jan, the Zeeuws Museum and the Veere harbour in two days

Two days suit Middelburg. Climb Lange Jan, the abbey tower, early on day one for the view over the polders and sea dykes of Walcheren, then give the Zeeuws Museum a couple of hours and walk the canals that trace the old star-shaped fortifications. On day two, cycle 5 km north-east to the harbour at Veere.

Then give the Zeeuws Museum a couple of hours; its tapestries and Zeeland costumes, with their lace caps and red coral necklaces, explain the province better than any brochure. Have lunch on the Markt beneath the Gothic front of the old town hall, now used by the university college.

In the afternoon, walk the canals that still trace the star shape of the 1595 Sea Beggars fortifications, and finish with dinner on the Vlasmarkt or the Dam. On day two, rent a bike and ride the 5 km to Veere, a former harbour town with a church far too big for it, then push on to the beach at Domburg. If engineering interests you more than sand, follow the N57 north over the Delta Works dams instead.

Oosterschelde mussels by the pan, samphire and a Zeeuwse bolus

Shellfish is the reason to eat in Middelburg. Oosterschelde mussels come by the pan, steamed with celery and onion and served with fries, from around July through the winter, and oysters are farmed nearby. The Markt, the Vlasmarkt and the Dam hold most restaurants, and a Zeeuwse bolus, a sticky spiced bun, is the local pastry.

Oysters are farmed in the same water near Yerseke, the shellfish village on the Oosterschelde. In summer, look for samphire (zeekraal) and sea aster (lamsoor), salty greens gathered from the tidal marshes. For something sweet, a baker's Zeeuwse bolus is a spiral bun glazed with brown sugar and cinnamon, best eaten warm with butter.

De Gouden Bock on the Damplein is a Mediterranean-leaning kitchen built around fish. De Gespleten Arent on the Vlasmarkt does careful modern cooking at lunchtime. Desafinado, a jazz cafe on Koorkerkstraat, has a terrace that looks straight up at Lange Jan and makes an easy lunch stop. Book ahead on summer weekends, when holidaymakers from the coast come into town to eat.

Cycling Walcheren to Veere, Domburg and the Delta Works

Walcheren is small and flat, so most day trips from Middelburg start on a bike. Veere, 5 km north-east, has a yacht harbour on the Veerse Meer and an enormous Grote Kerk, Domburg sits on the North Sea beach, and the N57 runs north across four Delta Works dams.

Domburg, on the north-west coast, is the classic beach resort of the island, with wide sand below the dunes and a long cycle path to get there. Vlissingen is closer still: walk its seafront boulevard to watch ocean ships sail up the Westerschelde towards Antwerp, then take the foot ferry across to Breskens to see the other bank.

The road crosses four dams, and the Oosterscheldekering, the great storm-surge barrier with its row of huge sliding gates, is the one to stop for. Without a car it makes a long but level day on the bike, best saved for a calm one.