Ghent. Very close to Bruges and often competing for beauty, we find this city that also seems to be taken from a fairy tale. Travel companions, welcome to Ghent!!
We continue in Belgium to visit this city that is often visited together with Bruges. Halfway between Bruges and Brussels, a little more than 50 kilometers to each of the aforementioned cities, it will become a good option if you are already visiting one of these. Belgium is a small country in size so the distances will always be easy to cover.
In this type of city I always think that walking and discovering is the challenge, but I am going to leave you with an itinerary option to be more organized if you want.
Our hotel was very close to it so we will start this tour at the Sint-Baafsplein Square.
In this monumental square surrounded by architecture we will find several of the things we will visit in Ghent so it is a very good idea to start here.
Indice:
St. Bavo’s Cathedral
The Cathedral of St. Bavo is a Catholic cathedral and serves as the seat of the Diocese of Ghent. It was built between 1228 and 1569. And receives many visitors to see the work The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, by the brothers Van Eyck.
Entrance to the church is free, but if you want to see The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb it costs €12.50.
There was a choir when we visited, it was a nice moment.
As is our custom, we try to put together an itinerary to visit the main places in Ghent, but if you want to tour this city accompanied by information and in your language, taking a free tour of Ghent is a good idea. The modality of free tours is already widespread, but in a few words for those who have not yet heard of them, they are guided tours in which you pay at the end of it what you consider appropriate according to the experience.
Are you also going to choose Bruges on your tour?, I leave you here the post about the beautiful medieval city of Bruges
Dutch Theatre
We return to the square, and with just one turn our gaze will fall on the Dutch Theatre, the municipal theatre of Ghent. On the façade we can make out the figures of Apollo, the Muses and the Goddess Harmony.
On the other side we find the beautiful Bell Tower of Ghent
Belfry of Ghent
Built in 1313, it is 91 metres high. Over the centuries, it has served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and make announcements, but also as a fortified watchtower and a repository for the city’s treasury.
The Belfry Tower (Belfort) declared by Unesco “World Heritage Site” together with the Cathedral of St. Bavo and the Church of St. Nicholas that we will see in a while, forms the triangle of the three towers of Ghent. Right next to the bell tower we find the Cloth Market.
You can go up, the cost of admission is €10.
Stadshal
We continue walking and we find a modern building, the Stadshal It is an urban enclosure located between the town hall, the municipal bell tower and the church of St. Nicholas. Since its opening to the public, the municipal pavilion has been the place for many events and celebrations of the city of Ghent.
Our walk between cobblestone streets and trams continues, we pass by the
Bricklayers’ Guild House
This is the authentic Guild House of the sixteenth century, because on the Graslei quay we will see another one that is a replica built for the Universal Exhibition of 1913.
In front of us we go to another essential of this city, the
Church of San Nicolás
Undoubtedly another of the places most identified with this city. Its construction began in the early eighteenth century , replacing an earlier Romanesque church located in the same place and burned down in 1176.
Admission is free.
We are now heading towards the
Church of San Miguel
It is one of the oldest churches in Ghent. Located next to the San Miguel bridge, it is a regular postcard of the city. Admission to it is free.
Even if you are not interested in entering the church I would advise you to come here to get a nice photo from this side of the bridge that we will talk about now.
St. Michael’s Bridge
The bridge is located over the Lys River, on the south side of Graslei and Korenlei. The present monumental bridge was built in the period 1905-1909. A beautiful place to take some nice pictures and to take a walk.
From the bridge or crossing it you will get some beautiful photos of the recently visited monuments.
And now we go to one of the most charming places in the city, the Korenslei and Graslei docks
Graslei and Korenlei
Standing on the bridge we will have the first view of this medieval port with its picturesque houses.
The two banks before our eyes of what is undoubtedly one of the most visited places in Ghent, Graslei (Herb quay) on our right and Korenlei (grain quay) on our left.
It can be a lot of time that we spend here touring and taking countless beautiful photos.
Ghent was a thriving commercial city and the port was undoubtedly a busy place.
On the Graslei pier we will have the facades of the guild house of the sailors, of the grain measurers, of the tax collectors, and the house of the Angel.
A very beautiful place without a doubt. But I repeat here the advice about taking a guided tour of Ghent, it is a lot that they give us in terms of the history of the place.
Embark
One of the options that we are presented with before continuing the walk is to embark and that is what we did, since we did not do so on our previous visit.
You have several different options. The one we chose was the boat with stops in the city and where you can get off and then take the next one. Hop on hop off stop boat
You have another option, the boat trip through Ghent with a round trip of 40/50 minutes. Both can be interesting depending on the idea of the route they are proposing.
Our steps are now directed to a square
Korenmarkt (the Corn Market)
Lively movement and many places to have a drink you will find here. Places that you will discover on the walk and we will arrive at
Meat Market (Groot Vleeshuis)
Although it is now closed for renovation, the old Meat Market housed many establishments selling Flemish produce. It is a shame to have found it closed, but that is one of those things that happens on trips.
We continue walking towards the
Groentenmarkt
With many food establishments we find this square that was formerly the place of executions.
We find here Frites Atelier, a place of fries where you can stop for a few minutes.
We are heading to another place to visit in Ghent and it is the
Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts of Flanders)
This is another of the visits to make in Ghent. This fortress was built in the 12th century by Philip of Alsace and houses the< history of the Counts of Flanders. You can visit the different rooms, the ramparts, the tower of homage and the count’s residence. The entrance fee is €13.
Next to the Castle we find Hoofdbrug, the execution bridge, a bridge used in ancient times for public executions.
Just by crossing we will see a charming little corner in Ghent, the square
Sint- Veerleplein Square
Here we will find restaurants and cafes to rest looking at the castle of the Counts of Falndes, a break that will be worth it.
We made a stop here to eat and then continue the walk, but we will talk about the restaurant data at the end in the practical data.
After this break we continue the walk through a very beautiful area of Ghent on
Patershol
We enter the medieval area of Ghent. Small winding streets and now with restaurants and movement transports us for a few moments and makes us enjoy the walk.
Lots of beautiful photos can be achieved among these cute streets.
Don’t be in a hurry, it was cold the day we went but it was still a relaxing walk. Choosing a place to eat here is a nice option.
As walking is the most beautiful thing to do in this city, we continued to wander through its streets until we reached this striking church, Iglesia de Santiago. It is worth taking a look inside, entrance is free.
And almost without realizing it, we reach our next point
Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market Square)
This square is named after the stalls that used to sell farm animals. Nowadays, on Fridays and Saturdays, you can also see various items there.
In the middle is the statue of Jacob Van Artevelde, and all the surrounding areas of the square are full of charm, such as the Socialist House, the Tanners’ Guild House or the Dulle Griet brewery.
Do you want to see a different place?, let’s go to Graffiti Street
The graffiti street (Werregarenstraatje) is an open-air canvas for the exploration of urban art. If you want to get off the beaten track, a getaway here will be worth it.
And returning to observe a beautiful building, we directed our steps towards the
Ghent City Hall
Built at different times, this building shows us two facades in different styles. A Gothic and a Renaissance.
Standing on this corner and admiring both is a must in this city that we are discovering with our camera for you.
Practical information
We chose to spend one night, although it was our second visit we had already done it before.
Hotels in Ghent
Again the chosen one was the ibis Gent Centrum St Baafs Kathedraal, right on the corner in front of St. Bavo’s Cathedral.
Normal room like the ones in the chain. On the other stay we had a room with a window overlooking the square, but this time it was not the same. Breakfast was also good. It has its own parking lot but since we had not booked we could not leave it there and we went about 5 blocks to a parking lot.
The location of the hotel is great for walking but if you go by car you must carry out a prior procedure as it is in an area of limited traffic. Here is the Ghent website where you can do the same.
As always, we travel with unlimited internet using Holafly’s eSIMs. You can use our discount coupon EUROPAACOMPANADA5
As we know how to travel with travel insurance is essential, this time we made the trip with my parents and we have taken out the insurance in Iati for everyone and in their case at the same price as ours without any age limit problem. Here is the information and a discount. Travel Insurance for Europe
How to get to Ghent?
Perhaps the best option is to go from Brussels, as it is only 55 kilometres away. You can go by train, which costs approximately €15 per journey and takes half an hour. You can also go by bus, which costs approximately 8/10 euros per journey and takes one hour.
Search for bus routes on my dates
You can take a day trip to Ghent from Brussels with an English-speaking guide, I think it’s a good idea, as we always say. You can also do Ghent and Bruges on a day trip from Brussels.
We chose to go by car because we were already touring Belgium. During all our last trips we are using Discovercars as we have found very good deals.
Where do we have meals?
We had lunch at Neptune in the square in front of the castle, it was very good. We had dinner at Korenmarkt Square in Kuip Van.
Did you see our driving route through Belgium and the Netherlands?
Map and video of Ghent
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
