Ghent

Introduction

The three towers of Ghent

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Ghent is one of the wonderful cities of Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Like Bruges it is a place with plenty of water. Unlike it, Ghent is not a city of a single period. Its buildings span many centuries. This may make it somewhat less 'tidy' then Bruges but it is extremely interesting and well justifies several nights. For more information, visit the official Tourist Website.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Graslei and Korenlei - two sides of the river in the old harbour area.
• St Bavo Cathedral - great building with fine picture's including Van Eyck's 'Adoration of the mystic lamb.'
• Belfry - has a lift but you have to go up a lot of steps first!
• St Nicholas Church - early 13th cntury.
• Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts).
• Alijns House Called 'Folklore Museum' but both the building and the collections are utterly fascinating - including black beaded wedding dresses and a device for Christening a baby in utero.
• Beguinages.
• Historic boat trips - from the Graslei or the Korenlei should not be missed.

Events and Festivals

The main festival during summer are The Ghent Festivities, a free ten day festival during the week of 21 July, celebrated in the historic centre of Ghent. This festival attracts over a million visitors each year, who will see free concerts, puppet busker acts, street theatre and much more on the streets and various squares.

Weather

Ghent has an average Belgian climate with warm and relatively dry and sunny summers from June to August. Average daytime temperatures are around 20-23 °C and nights are between 12 and 14 °C. Winters last from December to February when it is mostly above zero, but nights average just below. Snow is not very common but always a possibility in winter. Most of the rain falls during the October to April period though heavy showers in summers after hot conditions are possible as well.

Getting There

By Plane

Brussels International airport (BRU) and Brussels South Charleroi Airport are the main international airports, located near Brussels, which is just about 30-45 minutes by car/train/bus.

By Train

Ghent has two train stations, Ghent Saint-Peter (Gent Sint-Pieters) and Dampoort. Saint-Peter is the main station, and the second busiest train station of Belgium. Nowadays, huge construction and expanding works are in progress who will last for a few more years but services are normal. Check the NMBS website for information about connections, prices and other details.

By Car

Ghent is easily reached by car along the E40 highway from Bruges and Ostend in the west and Brussels, Leuven and Liege in the east, and along the E17 with Antwerp in the northeast and Lille in France in the southwest.

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

Your best bet is to put your car in one of the underground parking lots, or to use one of the P+R (park and ride) parking lots outside the city and to take a bus or tram.

By Public Transport

You can use both bus and tramway of the De Lijn Company.

By Foot

Like most Belgian cities, Ghent is pretty small, so easy to explore by foot!

By Bike

It's sometimes difficult (and dangerous) by bike because of the cobble stones and the tramway rails.

Eat

Ghent is the vegetarian capital of Belgium, with dozens of vegetarian or vegan restaurants! Do not forget to check out Panda, Avalon and Komkommertijd!

• Brasserie Borluut - Korenlei 7 - Phone: + 09 225 45 41.

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

• Brooderie - terrific situation - facilities shared with restaurant guests but a hotel in this location would cost at least double.

Upscale

Work

Learn

• Ghent University

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Post

De Post is the national postal service of Belgium, with Dutch, French and German versions. They offer generally fast, reliable services. It's a relatively expensive service though, with normal domestic post (cards, letters etc) up to 50 grams costing €0.61. To other European countries it costs €0.93 and outside Europe it's €1.30. At the post offices, you can buy stamps and they have other services as well, including international money transfers. The opening times of post offices are 9:00am or 10:00am until 4:00pm or 5:00pm, depending on whether it's the main central one or a smaller branch or in towns. Some of them might be open on Saturday mornings, and remember that quite a few still close for lunch break! De Post also offers the sending of parcels, but you could also use private international companies like UPS, TNT or DHL, as they offer roughly the same services and prices, but are generally faster.