Ghent

Ghent, Belgium

The historic guild houses of Graslei reflected in the river at sunset in Ghent.

A medieval port city still lived in, with canals, a castle and a famous altarpiece, about half an hour by train from Brussels.

The place

Ghent sits where the Leie river meets the Scheldt in the Flemish Region of Belgium, and it is the capital of East Flanders. It is the country's third largest city after Brussels and Antwerp, yet it feels smaller than those figures suggest, because most of its activity is packed into a compact historic core. The city is also a port and a university town, so the centre mixes old guild halls and church towers with students cycling between lecture buildings and the quays.

The historic centre is the main reason people come. Much of it survived the centuries largely intact, which gives the streets a lived-in quality rather than the feel of a preserved set. Traffic is kept out of the middle, so walking is the natural way to move between the cathedral, the belfry and the waterfront. Canals run beside stone façades, and the houses lining the Graslei and Korenlei are the views most visitors photograph first.

Ghent does not feel like a display piece. Shops, bars, markets and flats sit alongside the monuments, and the city has clearly worked to keep daily life going inside its old walls. Weekend afternoons in summer bring day-trippers from Brussels and Bruges in numbers, so a slower morning or an evening stroll along the canals is the easiest way to see the waterfront with fewer people about.

Prices are moderate by Belgian standards, with a good range of cafés and eateries away from the busiest corners. The weather is typical of the Low Countries: mild, damp and changeable, with rain possible in any month, so a light waterproof and a layered coat are sensible whatever the season.

Its story

Ghent began as a settlement at the meeting point of two rivers, and people lived on that spot long before the medieval city took shape. Archaeology finds traces of occupation around the confluence of the Scheldt and the Leie reaching back to the Stone Age and the Iron Age. The name is usually traced to a Celtic word meaning confluence or river mouth, though some scholars link it to a little-known deity. There are no written records from the Roman period, yet digs show the area stayed inhabited.

When Frankish groups moved into the old Roman territories, the spoken language shifted from Celtic and Latin to Old Dutch, and that shift shaped the language still spoken in the region. Around the middle of the seventh century, two abbeys were founded in the settlement, and they drew traders and craftsmen into a cluster of separate nuclei. Raids by Vikings in the ninth century set the community back, but recovery followed under the protection of the County of Flanders.

From the eleventh century the town flourished and grew into something close to a small city-state. Wealthy merchants and the craft guilds funded churches and civic buildings, and the belfry became a symbol of the town's independence. Trade through the port brought great prosperity in the later Middle Ages, when the city was one of the largest and richest in northern Europe. Later, political shifts and economic decline meant the centre was less reshaped by new building, which is why its medieval fabric survives so well today.

What to see

Culture

Ghent is a working city as well as a historic one, and its centre is largely car-free, so walking and cycling are the normal ways of getting around. The old quarters contain three béguinages, enclosed communities of women that date back centuries, along with churches such as St Jacob's, St Nicholas' and St Michael's. Architecture is a point of pride here: the medieval fabric has been carefully restored, and modern university buildings, including the Book Tower, sit comfortably within the skyline. Locals value a balance between comfortable daily life and the past. Cafés and bars fill with students in the evenings, and the mood is relaxed and sociable rather than formal. The city has a long tradition of civic politics, visible in the social-democratic buildings scattered through the town, so political discussion is common. When visiting churches and béguinages, dress modestly, keep voices low, and ask before photographing people at prayer or in private courtyards.

What to wear

Ghent does not have an everyday traditional dress in the way some regions do. Its historic identity lies in cloth: the cloth hall beside the belfry records a textile trade that once made the city wealthy, and linen and wool were the main materials of local clothing in earlier centuries. Regional folk costume survives mainly in festivals, folk groups and museum displays rather than on the street. Today people in Ghent dress much as they do across Belgium, in dark coats, jeans, knitwear and simple layers. Students often wear practical jackets and trainers, and bright colour appears more in summer festivals. For a visit, dress for changeable weather, with a waterproof jacket, a warm layer and comfortable shoes, because the old centre is paved with cobbles and canal edges can be slippery. For churches, shoulders and knees should be covered, and a light scarf is useful when entering the cathedral. In winter, a scarf and gloves are worth packing for the cold, damp wind off the water.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. April and May bring mild weather and spring colour in the parks, and September and October give softer light with fewer day-trippers. July and August are warm and busy, and winters are grey and damp, though the Christmas markets draw a crowd.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Brussels Airport, then a direct train to Ghent, about 30 minutes from Brussels; the main station is a short tram ride from the centre. Trains also run from Antwerp and Lille, and by car the E40 and E17 cross at the city.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources