Gent Things to Do

An imposing landmark in the city centre is the castle Gravensteen, the word Gravensteen is Dutch and stands for "Castle of the Counts", so the castle was the seat of the counts of Flanders. Built in...

On the west side of Cathedral of St Bavo stands the 91-meter-high belfry, symbol of the city's independence, where the charters of the privileges of Ghent were kept. The tower was begun about 1300 and...

The 1st building that so dominant from the road is Sint-Baafskathedraal/ St. Baaf (Cathedral of St Bavo), This beautiful Saint Bavo Cathedral dates back to the 10th century. It is based upon the...

Together with the Belfry Tower, Sint-Baafskathedraal, and the St. Nicholas' Church (Sint-Niklaaskerk) belongs to the prominent three towers of Gent's historic city centre, or maybe we can call it 3...

This beautiful place really amazed me when we arrived after admiring the cathedrals and towers. We can say it a paradise for architecture. This medieval port with its unique row of historical...

If you're in Gent only for one day, just visit the city, but if you're here longer, you should definitely take a cruise on the river Leie. 'Rederij Benelux' organise different kinds of cruises. We did...

The Ons Huis and Bond Moyson Buildings are probably due to their impressive Art Nouveau style my favourite buildings in Gent. They are linked to the Socialist Movement in Flanders and were built in...

The Meat Hall/ great Butcher's Hall or Groot Vleeshuis, a 14th century meat house on the pillory square is now a market showcasing some of the region’s specialties. Country hams hanging from the...

The steeple of St Michael’s Church should have stood out above all the others, but history decided otherwise: the 134 metre high planned ‘monument of triumph’, has remained at a paltry 24 metres. In...

There are many canals near the old central area around Gent. The lighting on the buildings and reflections in the canals are stunning. Many of the college students seem to hang around the canals....

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...

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...

This flamboyant Gothic façade is the Town Hall (Stadhuis) of Ghent. It is in fact made up of several adjacent structures constructed over several periods with contrasting architectural styles. In the...

“The following day we proceeded to Ghent, where we spent the remaining hours of daylight in sight-seeing, through rain and dirt so terrible that precaution appeared vain and I quite gave up picking my...

Known as Castle of Gerald the Devil (Geeraard de Duivelsteen in Dutch), this Gothic edifice dates from the 13th century. It belonged to a certain Gerald who, according to legend, married five times,...

The Statue of Jacob van Artevelde was errected in 1863 by Devigne-Guyo. The Flemish politician was born in 1290 in Gent and became a local hero when he allegedly saved the local textile industry by...

This impressive big red cast-iron cannon weighs 12,500 kg and is known in popular parlance as the ‘dulle griet’ (evil woman). It does have a big mouth but that’s as far as the evil goes, as it has...

Adjacent to the Belfry of Ghent, this Flemish Gothic edifice was built in 1425 as the cloth and linen trading hall -- naturally, as its name means "Cloth Hall". Cloth weaving was one of the trades...

“Ghent, I found to be an enormous, empty city, with an old Flemish gable-end peeping here and there from its rows of dull, white houses, and various tall and battered old church-towers looking down...

This altarpiece was painted by Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, by order of Judocus Vijdt, senior councillor of the City of Ghent. It was intended for the patron's own chapel and his wife Isabella Borluut and...

This corner is right in front of the entrance to Gravensteen Castle, so it’s quite a busy place. Two of the tram lines split up here. Line number one goes off to the west, while line number 4 keeps...

This is an interesting folk type museum, focusing mainly on the period between 50s and 70s There are 3 different whitewashed almshouses that house the 3 different parts of the museum. But I didn’t...

Museum voor Sierkunst, Design Museum, offers exhibitions of 20th century and contemporary design, with a fine representation of objects from the 19th century and earlier. The design of the museum is...

The bridge over the River Leie is the best place from which to view the skyline's trademark of the 3 towers; Sint Niklaas, The Belfort & St. Baaf's. From this bridge there are wonderful views to...

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...