They extend from the royal villa in the east to the Hippodrome Wellington horse racing track in the west.

The Royal Galleries were constructed between 1902 and 1906 following the plans of architect Charles Girault on the orders of King Leopold II of Belgium.

[1] They allowed the king and his guests to pass from the royal villa on the beach to the racetrack without being inconvenienced by rain or wind.

It was built with the allowance that the city of Ostend received in 1902 as compensation for the ban on gambling.

The paintings were a frequent subject of the works of the Ostend symbolist painter Léon Spilliaert.