Ghent is port city in Belgium’s Flemish region.

Known as the city of rebels, it’s Belgium’s second largest city and for those wondering about the variation in the spelling, Ghent is also spelt as Gent in Dutch.

Much of the city’s medieval architecture remains preserved and restored. Cars are banned in the city centre and is Belgium’s largest car free area.

Ghent is a University city with 65,000 students which is more than 25% of the city’s population.

If you decide to come in the summer, you’ve got the Ghent festival which is attended by roughly 2 million people over a 10 day period.

According to the tourism office, Ghent is home to 653 restaurants, 620 cafes and 250 different kinds of beer.

Sint-Michielsburg

Sint-Michielsburg (or St Michael’s bridge) is one of the best places in Ghent to take photos. You’ve got views of the canal, the three towers in the distance, St Michael’s Church and more.

Originally it was a flat swing bridge before being replaced by a stone arch bridge in the 20th century.

Sint-Michielsburg is by no means as big or famous like the Golden Gate Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge or Tower Bridge. It’s cobbled and takes a minute or two to walk. It’s a good place to enjoy a view and people watching.

Gravensteen

The Gravensteen is a medieval castle which dates back in its current form to 1180.

Known as The Castle of the Counts, it boasts a collection of torture equipment in the executioner’s cabinet.

While it was never a permanent residence, the count’s household stayed here when they were in Ghent. Ghent was never the count’s favourite place because he felt the locals were too rebellious.

The fortress was the epicentre of the county’s administration. The Count’s administrative office was located here as was the law court. In the seventeenth century there were four different courts in operation in the castle.

The castle hosts a variety of cultural events such as the Ghent festival. It’s a popular venue for Ghent locals to get married.

Portus Ganda

Portus Ganda is in the harbour area and opened in 2005 to create a destination for people wanting to tour the region by boat.

It’s less than 1km away from the heart of Ghent so you don’t need to go too far out if you want to get out of hustle and bustle for a stroll around the port.

Have a walk around and see if you can spot the Ghent Lorelei, a statue of the red naked woman with headphones sitting on a box listening to music.

Think along the lines of the little mermaid statue in Copenhagen for something of an equivalency.

Graffiti Street

I know I’ve mentioned numerous times in previous posts but I love street art. Graffiti street is the place to explore in Ghent if you love your street art.

Graffiti street is free to anyone to do their thing with a spray can. It’s an outlet welcome to anyone wanting to unleash their creative juices.

The place never looks the same from one week to the next. The only rule in this rule free zone is to respect work that’s better than yours.

One of the reasons city officials dedicated a street to graffiti art was to ensure it’s kept away from other areas of the city and away from historic buildings.

Ghent is a vibrant place which you’d expect from a University place. It’s not too big, it’s walk able and there’s always something to keep you busy.

I’ll even say it was my favourite place in Belgium (more on Bruges, Antwerp and Leuven in other blog posts).

The food scene is good. There’s enough beyond Belgian fries and waffles to fill the fixation of eating local food. The pub scene was good, plenty of local beers to sample and the locals are happy throw in their own suggestions.

The food at Christmas markets hit the spot especially trying the traditional Ghent dish julientje fries (fries with Belgian beef stew, mayonnaise, diced onions, viandel sausage and satay spices).

You’ve got cool neighbourhoods such as Patershol with plenty of history to explore, old cobbled streets, architecture, good options for foodies and more.

It’s not far from the more popular Bruges so if you don’t want to stay in Bruges, Ghent is a good option to base yourself and take the train for a day trip or two.