I visited Ghent (a good-sized city in Belgium known for its university) for a little over half a day toward the end of March. I was staying in Bruges, and Ghent is about thirty minutes away by train with a ten-minute tram journey to get to the centre of Bruges, so I had limited time here. This post has photographs of my trip, including some of the places to visit and things to do in Ghent. I had just about enough time to do everything I wanted, but I wouldn't have minded a couple more hours here.
Unfortunately, the weather on the day was overcast. This day was meant to have the best weather, but it ended up with the worst weather in the two and a half days of the trip; there was full sun on the other day and a half that I was in Belgium. I think that Ghent would have looked much better in the sunshine. So, what did I get up to for the four/five hours that I was in Ghent?
St. Michael's Bridge: After arriving by tram in front of St. Nicholas' Church (pictured above), I walked over St. Michael's Bridge. This is a picturesque view over the three towers of Ghent: the church of St. Nicholas, St. Bavo, and the bell tower.
Graslei and Korenlei: These two streets are situated along the canal on both sides of the bank and are a nice walk along to enjoy the historical buildings. These are very old streets with medieval buildings. It's a picturesque area of Ghent. (I think the best view is from the canal.)
Canal Tour: One of the tasks that I wanted to do in Ghent was to do a guided tour on the canal via boat. When I finally arrived along the canals in Ghent and was exporing this beautiful area, there was a boat ready to begin a tour, so I went on the tour. The boat ride lasted 45 minutes. Exploring Ghent, Belgium By Canal Boat
The Castle: Gravensteen Castle (Ghent Castle) is one of the main attractions in Ghent and one of the attractions that I was most looking forward to visiting. I spent a little over an hour exploring the castle, and you can read a lot more about my visit here: A Visit to Gravensteen Castle, Ghent (Belgium Castle of the Counts)
Patershol: This area of Ghent is located to the east of the castle. It is an area of cafes and bars and narrow streets. It is a picturesque area worth a little walk down a couple of the cobblestone streets. If I had had more time, I would have had a drink in one of the bars here as they looked like traditional Belgian bars. I didn't see many horse-drawn carriages like there were in Bruges, but I did see one going up and down the main street in this area. The back streets are much more picturesque.
Kornmarket: The main market square in Ghent is worth a wander with all the shops and picturesque buildings. There are some nice views from the castle leading down and a warehouse along the canal where you can get some food; it looks like an old medieval hall. There are also a couple of bars along the canal here, and I would have liked to have had a drink in one. I could have explored a lot more of this area, but I was rushed.
Souvinirs: Ghent is primarily a working and university city, and it is much larger than Bruges. There are souvenir shops, but there are not as many; I did not see many chocolate shops like I saw in Bruges. Most of the tourist shops sold mass-manufactured items instead of chocolate/lace and other local specialities. Kornmarkt had a couple of speciality shops, and the main squares were a good bet too. I found a wonderful coin and stamp shop and a souvenir shop right outside St. Nicholas' church.
One of the traditional items are the cuberdons; they are hard to describe, but they are similar to but much better than American gumdrops. I'm not a fan of gumdrops, but I loved cuberdons. These were for sale by a street vendor out of a wooden cart, and I was mesmerised by the quaint little cart and the items themselves, but the bloke was angry that I had stopped to look. I wanted to buy a couple here but was rushed away. If you do visit Ghent, I recommend them. I did manage to find some mass-produced ones in Bruges and bought a couple on my last day and had them when I got back to England, and they were delicious. They are melt-in-your-mouth flavoursome jellies. There were a couple shops here that also intrigued me but the bloke was angry at me wanting to look around, so the visit was rushed.
Graffiti Street (Werregarenstraat): This alleyway between two main streets is covered with spray paint. It is colourful, but there's not really any notable street art here. It appears to be sprayed over frequently. It's a good backdrop for photographs, and there were a lot of people on this street doing just that.
Courthouse: Like Bruges, the court house in the main square next to the bell tower can be visited, but it is not open on weekends, so I did not get to visit it. I would have visited it if it had been open because it looks fascinating inside from the photographs I saw in my guide book.
St. Bavos Cathedral: This cathedral can be visited. I did go inside, but I thought that it looks prettier on the outside because it does not have much stained glass as this was destroyed. However, the cathedral is the location of the famous Jan Van Eyck painting "Ghent Altarpiece" ("Adoration of the Mystic Lamb"). I believe that the main square in which the cathedral sits would be a place to hang out in better weather.
Lunch at Poule & Poulette: Poule and Poulette is located on Kornmarkt and serves chicken. We had a very late lunch here before heading back to Bruges. Beer and chicken are on the menu, and I ordered the half of a chicken that was set on fire when it was brought to the table. This chicken was delicious, but then I did not eat a bad meal in Belgium.
Ghent Bell Tower: Before I left Ghent, I visited the bell tower and went to the top to see the views over the city. This did not take very long because there is an elevator/lift most of the way up, and I don't care much for heights, so it was a pretty quick trip for me. The top is open except a very narrow one-person walkway around the tower. You can see photographs and read more about it here: A Climb Up Ghent Bell Tower (Ghent, Belgium).
That covers me visit to Ghent in Belgium, and I hope you enjoyed the photographs of this beautiful city. I just wish that I had had another hour or two here.
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