Ghent

Ghent (Dutch: Gent, French: Gand) is a city in East Flanders in Belgium. Ghent is a city with a population of 265,000 in 2020, with rich history. During the Middle Ages, Ghent was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Europe. The impact of this rich past can be clearly seen when viewing the imposing architecture of churches and the houses of rich traders. The city centre is restored, and breathes the atmosphere of a thriving late-medieval city state. It is free of cars, so it is a very welcoming and open area.

Understand


Ghent was once considered the second largest city north of the Alps, after Paris. It has a relatively high proportion of young people, and a significant seasonal student population. Unlike Leuven, another university town in Flanders, youth is not the only category of people living there. There is an interesting mixture of foreigners who came to live there, professionals working for major international firms, and artists among the people of Ghent. This mixture makes the people more tolerant and open-minded. This atmosphere seeps into every aspect of city life, making the city different from the smaller provincial cities or the bigger city of Antwerp.
 * Visit Ghent website

By train
Ghent is a 30-minute train ride away from Brussels and is on the line from Brussels to Bruges and the coast. If you're planning to visit Bruges and Brussels, definitely stop over in Ghent as well. There are also direct trains to Brussels Airport, Antwerp, and Lille.

There are two train stations in Ghent, and. Gent-Sint-Pieters is the main station, to go to the centre, take tram (until ). Journey time is ten minutes. Gent-Dampoort is closer to the center (about 15 minutes walk), but only trains coming from the direction of Antwerp stop there.

If you're visiting from Bruges, Brussels or Antwerp during the weekend, it's much cheaper to get a return ticket (special rate: weekend return).

Trip planning and ticket purchase can be done on the SNCB website or the SNCB app.

By car
The dense highway network in Belgium allows you to access Ghent easily by car. Two main highways E40 (Liège-Brussels-Ghent-Bruges-Ostend) and E17 (Antwerp-Ghent-Kortrijk-Lille) cross at Ghent. Brussels and Antwerp are 40 min away, Bruges 30 min. During rush hour you can easily double these times.

By plane
The two biggest airports nearby are Brussels (Zaventem, Belgium) and Lille (France). Direct trains are available from Brussels Airport to Ghent.

By boat
DFDS operates a cargo line to Gothenburg, Sweden.

On foot
The centre of Ghent is quite small, so you can walk around on foot. However, the main station (Gent Sint-Pieters) is not in the city centre, but takes a walk of about half an hour. The best option is to take the tram, which takes you directly to the centre in 10 to 15 minutes.



By bicycle
A bicycle is the recommended way to get around in Ghent. However, there are many roads with cobblestones that make cycling a shaking experience. Also make sure you stay clear of the tram rails. Nevertheless, you will see you are not alone on your bike: many inhabitants use bikes to get around. Even the former mayor uses his bicycle all day. There are many bike stands around to make it easy to lock your bike (important!) Many one-way roads are made two-way for bikes.

By public transportation
The transport system is Ghent is excellent and usually on time. The transportation company is De Lijn, whose website is available in English. A single ticket costs €2.50 if bought in the bus or tram (contactless only from white card reader) or from ticket machines near stops. Such a ticket is valid for an hour's travel on all trams and buses. If you are planning to stay for a while, either buy a three day pass for €15 or 10 trips for €17 — they are valid for within the city and can also be used throughout Flanders (e.g. Antwerp or Bruges). The trams are the quickest and most comfortable way to travel, especially from the railway station to the city centre. There are 3 tram lines, &.

There is a De Lijn app available for Android or IOS smartphones which offer journey planning, real time travel info and ticket purchase in English.

Tickets purchased on a card should be validated on the reader (not the white one) when entering the bus/tram while tickets purchased on the website or app should be validated before entering the vehicle. With a few exceptions, the tickets are usable throughout Flanders.

In the Lijnwinkel kiosk, near Sint-Pieters train station, you can get a free map of city and surroundings, with all bus and tram lines.



See




Do

 * Football: KAA Gent play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground Ghelamco Arena (capacity 20,100) is 3 km south of city centre.
 * Football: KAA Gent play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground Ghelamco Arena (capacity 20,100) is 3 km south of city centre.
 * Football: KAA Gent play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground Ghelamco Arena (capacity 20,100) is 3 km south of city centre.

Buy






Eat
Ghent provides an excellent and affordable sample of Flemish cuisine, which in the eyes of the locals is one of Europe's finest as it combines French delicacy with northern European sturdiness. Try some local specialties like mussels, spare ribs or 'stoverij' (a kind of tender meat cooked for three hours in dark beer with a brown gravy) with Belgian fries.

Another dish from Ghent is the "Gentse waterzooi" (litt. "boiled water from Ghent"), which was the food for the poor originally, a stew of cheap fish (usually turbot) and vegetables. Now it is often made with chicken as well.

Belgian waffles are available from a number of street stalls around the town.

The restaurants on Korenmarkt and Vrijdagmarkt are a good deal, reasonably priced; the menus and 'menus of the day' at the Brasserie Borluut provide terrific value and this includes Gentse waterzooi.

The real upmarket restaurants are to be found in the 14th-century quarter called 'Patershol', near the Castle. There is also a big Turkish community in Ghent, centred around Sleepstraat a bit further north, which is home to numerous Turkish restaurants.

Splurge
There are many high-class restaurants in town.



Vegetarian and vegan food
Information on vegetarian restaurants and shops is available from the campaign group EVA. Paper copies of their Guide to Veggie Ghent map is stocked by the Tourist Information Office on Veerle Plein.



Drink
For authentic pubs, go to St. Veerleplein (the square in front of the Castle), the pubs around St. Jacob's church (especially during weekends), or the student area around Blandijnberg (Mount Blandin), especially in the proximity of the School of Arts and Philosophy, recognisable from afar by the 64-m-tall art deco Library Tower. Ghent is known for its many pubs and clubs and most have friendly staff. If you visit Ghent for its great nightlife, be sure to check out the bars listed in the "Off the beaten path" section.

Sint-Jacobs & Vrijdagmarkt (Vlasmarkt-Beestenmarkt)

 * Surrounded by the bars Jos, Vlasmarkt 7 and Bar des Amis, Vlasmarkt 5.
 * More alternative bars are Kinky Star, Vlasmarkt 9, 't begin van 't einde, Vlasmarkt 14 and Video, Oude Beestenmarkt 7, all have regular live concerts.
 * More alternative bars are Kinky Star, Vlasmarkt 9, 't begin van 't einde, Vlasmarkt 14 and Video, Oude Beestenmarkt 7, all have regular live concerts.
 * More alternative bars are Kinky Star, Vlasmarkt 9, 't begin van 't einde, Vlasmarkt 14 and Video, Oude Beestenmarkt 7, all have regular live concerts.

Student area

 * Overpoortstraat is a street packed with 34 pubs and bars where during the week (especially Wednesday and Thursday nights) all the students go crazy. Because on Thursday it is so crowded over there, dancing usually happens on the tables. Some notorious bars/clubs are Decadance (house, techno, drum&bass), Boom Boom (rock'n roll), Den Drummer (rock and metal), Twieoo (often new wave and holebi parties), Cuba Libre(also known as the Puta Libre) (commercial, R&B, etc.), The Frontline underground concert venue featuring mainly metal, punk and hardcore concerts.

Off the beaten path
Want to try some bars you won't find in any tourist guide? This is a great selection: This is not the only great place in De Visserij. Check out the cosy De Kleine Kunst and jolly Fabula Rasa along the canal at the Ferdinand Lousbergkaai. Drinks and food are generally quite cheap in this area.

Budget

 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:
 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:
 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:
 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:
 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:
 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:
 * A list of B&Bs can be found at:



Connect
As of June 2022, Ghent has 4G with Base / Telenet and Orange, and 5G with Proximus / Scarlet. Wifi is widely available in public places.

Go next
The Belgian train system is very efficient and the country not that large, so getting between major cities by rail is easy – in the day. A day trip to even multiple cities is easily doable. From Ghent, multiple railway lines radiates to major destinations in Flanders:
 * Bruges, famous for its canals and medieval heritage as well, is 20 minutes by train from Ghent
 * In the opposite direction, the often-overlooked town of Sint-Niklaas, with Belgium's largest market square, is also 20 minutes away
 * Just across the Dutch border, the very well-preserved historic fortified city Hulst attracts lots of day-trippers from Belgium. It was once part of Flanders, and its main street and city entrance gate still refer to Ghent.
 * Kortrijk, a charming and historically important provincial city in West Flanders is 30 minutes away
 * Antwerp, Brussels, Mechelen and the seaside resort of Ostend are around 40 minutes away
 * All the major cities in Wallonia are within 1.5 hours of train ride - either direct or with a quick change in Brussels
 * The French city of Lille is an hour away by direct train
 * Sint-Martens-Latem is very near and offers a great half-day trip to those who are interested in arts.