Ghent Belgium Travel Tips

Ghent: Humble, Hip, and Happily Surprising
Like Amsterdam and Bruges, Ghent (aka: Gent, or Gand) dazzles with canals, cobblestones, and a Gothic skyline—but it’s far more fun, happily humble and hip, thanks to youthful students. Ancient abbeys sit alongside street art alleys (organized graffiti). Cafés pump out vibey music afternoons, and medieval castles lit up magically at night, all quirky Gentish traditions. Get a Ghent CityCard to explore this beautiful Flanders city of 250,000 Belgians, where Dutch is the language, but French and English are widely spoken, and Gent is spelled 3-ways!

Ghent and the Guardians
The gorgeous Ghent Sint-Pieters Station appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s that fabulous and famous! Ghent is just a 30-minute train from Brussels. We preferred cycling on bike paths, arriving in Ghent, having cycled 34-miles from nearest Antwerp, starting in Brussels →Mechelen→Leuven on our Belgium Bike Tour, then onto Bruges and into The Netherlands on 20-day grand bike tour.

Glide through Ghent
A water tram, or hop-on hop-off boat, is a fabulous start to exploring Ghent’s gems. The pretty canals and quays of Graslei and Korenlei lined with gabled guild houses bring you to stone bridges and the confluence of the Scheldt and Leie rivers. The only trick to the narrated boat tours (just $15 Euro) is the 3 (or 4) languages, provided almost simultaneously – my Linguistic hat is off to the captain narrators for the skill, switching from English-Dutch-French-German, but its confusing!

Squares, Castles, and Cathedrals
Groentenmarkt Square, by the Leie River, is Ghent’s storybook place of markets. It’s a lively pedestrian plaza, a perfect place to grab a coffee or beer and people watch the ladies and gents of Gent pass by.

Nearby, the 12th century Gravensteen Castle (Castle of the Counts) has brooding towers, a moat, courtyards and a labyrinth of turrets and rooms. Do the Castle of the Counts tour (self-guided with headsets) to learn it’s a fascinating history of romance, royals and ridiculous tortures. Back in Veerleplein Square, look up at Neptune with his Trident, he’s eye-catching too, guarding the Old Fish Market entry!

Ghent’s skyline is dominated by St. Bavo’s Cathedral, this 12^th century Romanesque church is home to the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, van Eyck’s 15th-century Dutch masterpiece that has survived wars, theft, and intrigue, now protected by $ millions in glass.

Climb the Belfry of Ghent (a UNESCO site) 254 steps for a panoramic view. You’ll see and hear the carillon bells up close. This 1425 Bell Tower is home to Gent’s symbol – The Dragon of Gent. From here, find a café in Vrijdagmarkt for a beer, or mussels in wine with frites. This beautiful plaza is now so peaceful and pleasant, but was the execution square till the early 1900s.

Hotel d’Hane Steen and Arnold Vander Haegen House are marvelous examples of 18^th century luxe living, with furnishings and art, decadent chandeliers and draperies, conveniently across Veldstraat from each other.

Stroll across to photogenic St. Michael’s Bridge. Don’t miss St. Peter’s Abbey, a 7th-century monastery. Ghent’s Town Hall (Stadhuis) is incredible, flamboyant and fantastic in its ornate façade. Belgian cities spared no expense on their Stadhuis, city halls, to attract wealthy inhabitants and affluent (tax paying) businesses back in the day. It was an over-budget construction competition: Brussels, Antwerp, Mechelen, Leuven.

Quirky Traditions
Ghent has a playful side. In Sint-Veerleplein Square, lights flicker whenever a baby is born. At certain pubs, you may be asked to leave a shoe as a deposit for your beer glass—a sole-ful way to ensure no one walks off with a stein. And at the Groentenmarkt, try cuberdons (cone-shaped purple candies). Beware, though: there’s a “War of the Little Noses” between rival vendors Breine and Demeestere, who have argued for years over whose sweet nose gets the nod.

Neighborhoods and Nightlife
Patershol’s medieval neighborhood buzzes with cafés and boutiques. Gent comes alive at night at Overpoort, the student quarter filled with pubs and vibey clubs with no curfew. The city is known as Europe’s “best-lit city,” where architectural floodlighting transforms façades into glowing stage sets.

Go Eat Ghent
A favorite breakfast spot, Caffe Rosario is lively, fun and delicious, near the Belfry. Have a hot Belgian chocolate, or house roasted coffee, and a croissant of your choosing, with table service! Outdoor seating a Jaggers in Vrijdagmarkt is great for a beer and a bite in the afternoon with a view of the belltower, churches and medieval houses surrounding the square.

An elegant lunch spot overlooking the Korenlei canal, Allegro Moderato serves THE Best local Waterzooi – a creamy stew of chicken, or Gentse stoverij – beef simmered in dark beer, resplendent under gorgeous chandeliers.

Have a cocktail at the 1898 Post Hotel & Cocktail Journey, the Cobblers Lounge here is old-world chic with a commanding canal view.
For dinner, book a table at Takes Thyme, an eclectic but delicious cozy café. ‘t Koningshuis is the place for burgers, and Belgian frites (and mayo), of course!

Art, Architecture, and Shopping
Gent embraces both heritage and controversy. The Stadshal, or City Pavilion, is a bold contemporary installation of varying local opinion, ok – its just weird! Werregarenstraat, better known as Graffiti Alley, gives street artists a creative space, while sparing the city’s more historic walls. Stroll the Great Butchers’ Hall, a medieval meat market still in biz and abuzz.

Stay at Hotel Harmony in Gent on the canal. This luxe 4-stay hotel is in the heart of the city, near the Castle of the Counts and all the best of Gent. Our room was modern chic, beautifully appointed, with a canal view. The hotel even has an outdoor pool in a courtyard. Vera at reception was so helpful throughout our stay, including recommending cafes, showing us to our suite, and directing us to the hotel’s carpark for our bikes.

Just go to Ghent
Ghent is where history is “happening.” Gothic towers reflect in calm canal waters, old abbeys lead to artsy graffiti alleys. It’s a place of medieval beauty but youthful beer cafés, where every corner and castle holds a story from execution to excitement —and some stories come at the price of a shoe deposit for a beer stein.

From Ghent we bicycled 32 miles to Bruges.

See our review of Biking Belgium – an itinerary of some of the most majestic cities in Belgium with gorgeous countryside for cycling in between. You can also continue your Belgium bike tour into the Dutch “Sea Land” biking the southern border of Netherlands abutting Belgium and Germany, returning to Brussels.