Of all the cities we visited in Belgium, Ghent was the one that seemed the most surprised to see us- I guess most tourists tend to skip past the city to visit Bruges or Antwerp instead.
More than once, we’d been asked how we’d heard of the city or if there was a particular reason we’d ended up there- and to be honest, I couldn’t say why we’d visited Ghent in particular. It was conveniently located on our train route between Brussels and Bruges and it looked pretty- what more could we ask for?
There is a robust tram system to maneuver around the city, though we mostly used to to get back and forth between the main train station and city center, where our hostel was located. As our first and only hostel on a three month long trip (I know, who have I become?), we’d booked our stay solely for the view and I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint- we could see the Ghent’s famous three towers from bed!
I have a more detailed review about this specific hostel here, but suffice to say, it was an excellent location from which to base our adventures around the city.
As per usual, we began our visit with a free walking tour around the city to get a lay of the land. Our tour with Legends Free Walking Tour ended up being incredibly foggy, which lent itself to a very spooky and mysterious atmosphere- though we did end up doing nearly the same route on the following day to see everything more clearly after the fog lifted.
Some of my highlights on the tour included Gravensteen, a medieval castle sitting right on the water and offered tours to the public, though we had elected not to enter.
Across from the castle, a city square once known for its executions had been repurposed with streetlamps connected to the city’s hospitals. When a baby was born, the family would press a button and the lamps would light up to show the birth- a place of death reborn into a place of birth. Our guide told us that during the COVID quarantines when only the parents were allowed in the hospitals, their extended families would wait in the square with a bottle of champagne to celebrate once the lamps were lit. It’s been over a year since I heard that story and I still tear up every time.
We walked along the River Lys to admire all of the beautiful facades of the old Guild Houses, which I found to be fairly reminiscent of Amsterdam. The gorgeous facades owe much of their pristine appearance to Ghent’s 1913 World Exhibition, which prompted renovations around the city. If you look closely, you may even see a duplicate facade around the city! As the story goes, the city had misplaced one of their buildings- either it had been covered up or knocked down, but they still had the blueprints. They decided to build an exact replica of the facade, only to eventually find the original building many years later- so now there are two!
I’ve heard of misplacing jewelry or a cellphone, but never a whole building!
Speaking of missing items, take a peek at the Ghent Altarpiece in St. Bavo’s Cathedral. Two of the twelve panels were stolen in 1934, and while one panel was returned by the thief, the last panel remains missing to this day. Movie fans may also recognize this altarpiece from the film The Monuments Men.
The tower of St. Bavo’s Cathedral makes up one of Ghent’s famous three towers, with the other two being the nearby Ghent Belfry and St Nicholas’ Church. All three can be seen from the nearby St Michael’s Bridge, making it an excellent photo opportunity.
The bar Dulle Griet is also pretty unmissable, with its extensive beer selection and famous MAX beer collateral, where they take your shoe in exchange for an exceptionally rare glass of beer.
Overall, I found Ghent to be both beautiful and very welcoming. One of the things I remember the most about Ghent was how we were greeted with immediate kindness from the second we arrived. Straight out of the train station, we struggled for a while with what we later found out was a broken ticket machine before a Belgian girl pointed us in the direction of a working machine. Once we successfully got our tickets and made our way onto the tram, a teenager immediately changed seats so my friend and I could sit together- and both of these incidences happened within the first ten minutes of our arrival!
As much as I enjoyed my visit, the excessive free time we’d had when our plan to take a day trip to Antwerp was derailed (pun intended) by a train strike made it clear that the city would be best visited itself as a day trip or otherwise for only a few days. I felt that I was able to see the majority of the city’s major tourist locations on my walking tour and then spent the majority of my remaining visit ducking in and out of boutique shops and cafes.
On the other hand, while I’ve said before that I found it difficult to eat on a budget in Ghent, the coffee and beer culture was pretty unmatched, especially while the FIFA World Cup was running during our visit- so your mileage may vary depending on your preferred vacation.
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