Path Well Traveled: A Ghent Travel Guide
The European Judges of Rathe Georegion Conference is fast approaching on October 18th to 19th, and this year’s conference will be held in the lovely city of Ghent. Let’s go over some of the information you will need on how to get to the city, where to stay in the city, what to do in the city, and what to eat in the city!
How to Get There?
Before visiting beautiful Ghent, you need to get there, for most of you, that will include flying to one of these three airports:
- From Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, there are trains that can get you there in a couple hours. They will most likely contain a transfer in Antwerp, as it’s a main hub for Belgium. You can book through the NS website or SNCB website to get those tickets.
- From Brussels airport, you can take a simple train to get to the city. You can take a direct one, or you may have to stop through Brussels-Zuid (also named Brussels Midi or South depending on the site and language). It’s best to use the SNCB website for to book the train as it is the local one.
- From Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, take a Eurostar to Brussels Zuid (also named Brussels Midi or South depending on the site and language) then a train to Ghent from there. You can go through SNCF or SNCB, but the latter is the best to have better information and pricing.
For all of these cases, you’re most likely going to want to go to the Ghent-Sint-Pieters station, as it’s the most central one. Buses and trams go out from there to the rest of the city.
From Sint-Pieters, the venue for the conference is at a leisurely 35 minute walk, or 20 minutes if you take the T4, T3 or T1 Tramway.
If you happen to arrive through Dampoort Station, you can walk to the venue in 25 minutes, or take the 10 or 11 Bus to get there in 15 minutes.
Relevant Links
How Can You Enjoy Your Time in Ghent?
Now that we’re here, onto the visit! Ghent is a beautiful pearl amulet, ready to be discovered by you!
If you walk around in Ghent, you will meet the people who live there, work there and the students enjoying the city in between (or during) their seminars. Tourists have not overrun our nice city yet.
How can you enjoy your time in Ghent?
The Classics
The heart of the city, and where you will find most of the tourists, is in between the three towers of Ghent: a church, a cathedral and a belfry. Those three towers dominate the skyline of Ghent.
- Church: St Nicholas’ church. A big church in the center. Walk around that church to discover a lot of cool places. Restaurants, pubs, a park, the city hall, and a strange roof (called ‘sheep barn’).
- Cathedral: St Bavo’s Cathedral. This building also houses the painting ‘Mystic Lamb’ by Van Eyck. The details in that painting are amazing.
And there is the unsolved mystery of the stolen part of this painting. - Belfry: on top of that tower is a proud dragon, a symbol of the city.
In that area, you find tourist shops and traps, but there are also some nice places where Ghent citizens go.
- Comic Sans: A geek themed pub. You can have cocktails inspired by Harry Potter, Star Wars,… play on an Indiana Jones pinball machine, rent a space to play Mario Kart with friends.
- Mokabon: Coffeebar. For your coffee addiction (your starbucks alternative).
- Sphinx cinema: A small independent cinema in the heart of the city. We don’t dub our movies, we just put Dutch and French subtitles under it.
- Graslei: Buy a picnic and/or some drinks in the supermarket (Albert Heijn) and enjoy it at the riverside surrounded by the history of Ghent, student-style. Or, sit at one of the terraces if you want to pay the tourist price.
Other Classic Tourist Spots
- Castle of the Counts: A castle with a moat, in the center of the city.
- Saint Michael’s Bridge: The best spot to see the classics in Ghent. Also nice during the evenings.
- Beguinages: Meant for women to live a devotee life, together in isolation, without taking monastic vows. There are three in Ghent. Peace and quiet in narrow streets.
- Old St Elizabeth Beguinage.
- Small Beguinage Our Lady ter Hoyen.
- Great St Elizabeth Beguinage.
Outside the Classics
Areas to Hang Out & Picnic
- Portus Ganda: Also a nice area to visit at night
- Baudelohof: Previously an abbey garden and botanical garden, now a great park.
- Coyendanspark: Previously a church, the shrubberies are marking where it used to be.
- Citadelpark: One of the bigger parks in the center of the city.
Activities
- Van Eyck Wwimming Pool: Oldest swimming pool in Belgium. Art deco interior. Don’t forget to bring your swimsuit!
- Bar Amai: On Saturdays, this bar organizes English comedy evenings.
- World’s End Comics: Boardgames, comics, manga, and gaming in a medieval dungeon. One of the places in Ghent where you can play Flesh and Blood. Armory night is Sunday evening.
- Outpost Ghent: Gaming, boardgames, cardgames & pub. Armory night is Thursday evening (mostly CC or draft).
- Studio Skoop: Independent cinema (yes, we have two of independent cinemas!)
- Boat Tours of Ghent: Most of the guides are funny, and a good way to find some nice spots and learn about the history.
I live here and we still like to do these tours. - Graffiti Street
- Lockdown: Escape rooms open all week, for groups of three to eight people.
- The Zone: Laser games, karaoke and other activities.
Food & Drink
Coffee Bars
- Take Five
- The Mokke
- Clouds in my Coffee
- Den Hoek af
- Labath
Ice Cream Shops
- Bas
- Ice Ice Amy
- Coco Gelato
Bars
- Drifter (cocktail bar, tiki style)
- Trappistenhuis (bar, large amount of beer selection)
- Edelrot (wine bar)
- Comic Sans (mentioned above)
Restaurants
Vegans and vegetarians, have no fear! Ghent has a lot of vegan ・ veggie restaurants.
Some personal favorites include:
- Knol & Kool: Serves coffee, breakfast, lunch. Vegan restaurant.
- Apero d’Oc: French apero. Ask for a fitting wine.
- Mosquito Coast: Diverse world kitchen, nice for groups. One of their managers plays Flesh and Blood!
- Gouden Saté (or other ‘frituur’ like ‘the papegaai’): ‘Frituur’, or chip shops, serve “french” fries. You can find multiple places specialized in only serving them. One famous place is the Golden Saté. It’s located in Overpoortstraat, the street with the clubs and pubs. Every student has a story about a midnight snack they got at that place. The original owner, Julien, had a special ‘dish’. After he died, it got named after him. At many places in Ghent, you can order that dish, called “Julientje”. Make sure you are hungry enough if you want to finish it on your own!
Hotels and Hostels
- Hostel De Draecke: Cheap hostel, nice area with willow trees next to the water; most romantic spot in Ghent!
- Hostel Uppelink: Located in the town’s center. If you stay here, you can rent a kayak and discover Ghent in a more adventurous way.
- Treck Hostel: Indoor camping in a caravan. Lots of activities on offer.
- Ibis Hotels: Located in the town’s center, or close to Dampoort station.
Relevant Links
Featured Image by Dylan Chan. Other images taken from City of Ghent’s International Tourist Website, visit.gent.be.
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