Gent Travel Guide

  giant medieval spiders lived here?
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  • giant medieval spiders lived here?
      giant medieval spiders lived here?
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  • birdseye view
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  •   Gent
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  •   Gent
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  • Gent at Night
      Gent at Night
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Pro

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 Beautiful classical city, statues and sculptures, less touristy than "picturesque" Brugges 


Con

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 cobbled streets make it difficult for high heels or bikers 


In a nutshell

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 One of the trendiest citys in Belgium with the perfect balance between medieval culture & innovation 

 

Explore Gent

Things to Do  

Castle of the Counts - Gravensteen

Castle of the Counts - Gravensteen, Gent

 61 Reviews  Gravensteen, meaning castle of the counts in Flemish, is an impressive sight. Built in 1180 by Philippe d’Alsace, count of Flanders, Gravensteen Castle is a worthwhile visit for anyone who enjoys history. Featuring walls that measure two meters (6.5-foot) thick Gravensteen features a torture museum,... 

St Bavo's Cathedral

St Bavo's Cathedral, Gent

 26 Reviews  Saint Bavo’s Cathedral (Sint-Baafskathedraal) is a beautiful structure with so many things to see inside that you should think of it as a visit to a museum. The tower rising up in front is impressive, one of the three tower that dominates the city center (the others belong to Belfort and St.Nickolas... 

St Nicholas Church

St Nicholas Church, Gent

 26 Reviews  St Nicholas chuch (St.Niklaaskerk ) was built from 13th to 15th century in scheldt gothic style (check the typical single large tower above the crossing and not above the entrance and the tournai bluestone throughout the church) replacing an old Romanesque church. It was dedicated to Saint Nickolas,... 

Graslei

Graslei, Gent

 23 Reviews  One of the nicer parts of the historical center of Gent is the Graslei and Korenlei area along the river, at least when there's good weather. ;-) The river is lined by these lovely old buildings, and not much beats sitting outside, having a beer from one of the nearby cafes or bars. Of course, the... 

St Baaf Cathedral

St Baaf Cathedral, Gent

 15 Reviews   St. Bavo’s Cathedral stands proudly on the side of the square opposite the Belfort and down the road from St. Niklasskerk. These three buildings make up the Ghent skyline of towers, almost as if they are vying for position and recognition. The Gothic style cathedral was originally started in the... 

Belfry Tower

Belfry Tower, Gent

 22 Reviews  The Belfry is one of the three medieval towers dominating Gent's city centre. Built by Jan van Aelst and Filips van Beergine, the Belfry tower was finished in 1338, when the bells were rung for the very first time. Interestingly enough this was to honour an English king. Four stone scultptures of... 

Dulle Griet - Mad Maggy

Dulle Griet - Mad Maggy, Gent

 8 Reviews  Gent is definately the place to go if you want to indulge in great Belgium Beers! I hear that it is a fella's buck's night dream! haha :o) ..... But if I lived close by...don't you worry.... I'd have a regular Sheilla's beer night too lol. And the best place to go is Dulle Griet right in the heart... 

Belfort

Belfort, Gent

 13 Reviews  The Belfort (belfry) like in many other Belgium cities gives you a chance to have a great view over the city as it’s located between the St.Nickolas church and the cathedral. The tower is 91 meter high and was built in 1380. There is a steep and narrow staircase but don’t worry about that because... 

Saint Michael’s Church - Sint-Michielskerk

Saint Michael’s Church - Sint-Michielskerk, Gent

 7 Reviews  We started our walk in the historical center of Gent from St. Michael church (Sint-Michielskerk). It’s a roman catholic church that was built on the site of a small chapel that was destroyed by fire in 12th centery. The church we see today was built through a large period between mid 15th century... 

Friday Market - Vrijdagmarkt

Friday Market - Vrijdagmarkt, Gent

 7 Reviews  The Friday Market (Vrijdagmarkt) was the forum of Gent, the spot where innumerable festivities, quarrels and fights took place. In the middle, you can see the statue of Jacob van Artevelde, the burgomaster of the city. It was made by Devigne. 

City Hall - Stadhuis

City Hall - Stadhuis, Gent

 5 Reviews  The city hall (stadhuis, in Flemish, hôtel de ville, in French) of Ghent, located on the Butter Market, consists of two wings (see photo #1). The older wing (see photo #3, #4, & #5) was designed by Rombout Keldermans (1460-1531) and Dominic de Waeghemaekere. This wing, at the corner of Botermarkt... 

Gentse Feesten

Gentse Feesten, Gent

 6 Reviews  Si quieren conocer la mejor fiesta de verano de Belgica, vengan en Julio a Gantes a participar de los 10 dias de fiesta de la Gentse Feesten! Es lejos el mejor momento de conocer la ciudad (aunque este un poco sobre poblada por que cada año viene mas gente). Los espectaculos son gratuitos y de muy... 

Walking

Walking, Gent

 4 Reviews  The best way to see Gent I thought was to go walking. The main sights are all in a pretty compact area. I saw so much, and don't forget to look up, its amazing what you see! There are guided walking tours available through the Tourist office, or, what is really good,you can download a map and do it... 

Groot Vleeshuis - Meat House

Groot Vleeshuis - Meat House, Gent

 6 Reviews   The large meat hall, Groot Vleehuis, was an interesting stop in our tour of Ghent architecture. We stopped in to look at the original wood beamed ceiling and an uneven wooden floor. Today, it is still used for selling meats and contains a restaurant and a deli. Hanging from the wooden beams were... 

Castle of Gerald the Devil

Castle of Gerald the Devil, Gent

 7 Reviews  Geraard de Duivelsteen was built in the 13th century and is named after Gheeraert Vilain who was nicknamed "The Devil". This castle has been used, over the centuries, for many different purposes, including : a monastery, a school, a prison, an orphanage, a juvenile detention center, an institution... 

Vrijdagsmarkt

Vrijdagsmarkt, Gent

 3 Reviews  I don’t know if I should admit this in public (especially since the American authorities might read it and not let me back into the country), but the most moving and emotional sight for me in Ghent was this Art-Deco building from the year 1899 called “Our House” (Ons Huis), which is clearly... 

Jacob Van Artevelde

Jacob Van Artevelde, Gent

 7 Reviews  In the nineteenth century Flemish nationalists scoured the history books in search of a national hero. For some reason they settled on Jacob van Artevelde (1290-1345), a wealthy textile merchant and politician who was more of less the dictator of Ghent for the last decades of his life. He was quite... 

Canal Trip

Canal Trip, Gent

 5 Reviews  Since I had arrived too late in the evening to take a canal boat tour in Brugge a couple days before, I was determined to take one in Gent. So I went over to the dock at the Vleeshuisbrug Groentenmarkt and took the next boat that was leaving. This happened to be a tour with explanations in French,... 

Boat Ride

Boat Ride, Gent

 6 Reviews  Another 'must do' when in Gent! It was so nice to meet vt member Joplaboem (Erwin) in Gent. Without Erwin we would not have stopped here, let alone experience the things we did in a short period of time. Erwin mate.... you are a gem!! As I said, do not leave Gent unless you have done a canal trip.... 

Groentenmarkt

Groentenmarkt, Gent

 3 Reviews  Groentenmarkt means Vegetable Market, and you really can buy vegetables here, but first you might have to wait for the tram to go by. Another thing you can do here is buy tickets for a boat trip on the canals. In former times this square was used for executions, so there is a small house here... 

Hotels  

NH Gent Belfort

 5 Reviews and 268 Opinions  Now this hotel is not easy to get to BY CAR but it does have its own private car park beneath it... 

Hotel Harmony

 1 Review and 218 Opinions  We have stayed at the Hotel Harmony twice and we will go back again. The rooms are lovely, there is... 

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Map of Gent