Did you know it’s only 2 hours on the train from London to Ghent in Belgium? In this one day in Ghent guide, I rounded up all my favourite spots of the city.
I was surprised to see how quick and easy it was to travel into a completely different world and I was so happy to take the train to Ghent and spend 2 nights in this charming city that had a nice mix of old and new.
Never knew Ghent was such a creative place!
QUICK LINKS
DAY TRIP TO GHENT IN BELGIUM
MORNING IN GHENT
CREATIVE GHENT THINGS TO DO: DISCOVER STREET ART
Ghent is a historic city, but once you really start to look at the detail and step off the main shopping streets, there is a whole other world to discover. A world filled with street art, for example!
Sadly, I only got to join half of a street art tour in Ghent because I had to run and get my Eurostar train back, but from what I was able to see, there is a lot happening here. From massive commissioned murals, to illegal tags and even a whole street filled with art (Berlin-style), you can spend hours walking through the city and learning about its (street) artists.
There is a handy map called the “Sorry, Not Sorry Street Art Map“, which offers an overview of all murals that you can admire in Ghent. I’ll make sure to create a separate post with all the works I’ve found!
EAT A WAFFLE!
Belgium is off course famous for her waffles, so after your street art tour, you might want to warm up a bit with a tasty treat.
And yeah… don’t do what I did and just take a photo of the building, then completely getting distracted and not actually buying one. The reasons to come back to Ghent start piling up now.
WHERE TO EAT, DRINK AND SHOP?
The Travel Tester loves to review restaurants and shops all around the world.
From (themed) restaurants, bars and cafes with local specialties to the best shops selling regional or handmade artisan products and unique souvenirs… if it looks interesting to us, we’ll test it!
No matter where you’re going, with our reviews you’ll know exactly where to find a fun hotspot!
VISIT THE DESIGN MUSEUM GENT
One of the main reasons for my visit to Ghent, was because I was invited to check out a new exhibition in the Design Museum Gent, called Hello! Robot. This exhibit features four highly interactive sections in which the visitor is invited to think about the robots that are already in our lives, and the question if we want to have even more and in what way.
I was very impressed with the exhibition and think the curators have done an excellent job compressing this incredibly broad topic into such comprehensible displays. You really leave the museum asking yourself how we should deal with new technologies, as individuals and as a society as a whole.
TIP! Here you can read a review of the Hello! Robot exhibition >
AFTERNOON IN GHENT
EXPLORE NEST
Update 2023: NEST is now closed.
Another big reason for my visit of Ghent, was to show that besides all the historic attractions, there is so much more going on ‘behind the scenes’ of this city. We started off going to NEST, a creative space in the former library of the city.
Over 70 groups of creatives gathered and gradually 13 groups arose on the basis of shared or additional interests. Each group developed its own offer that is available to everyone. They act autonomously and determine the rules themselves for the use of their offer and space. This way, they form a city in a city, accessible and open to everyone.
For example, on the ground floor, you can find ‘Deelpunt‘, a place that connects shared initiatives around mobility, nutrition, clothing, etc, or ‘TOOP‘, a meeting space where you can be surprised by local products and take-away food. On the 1st floor, you can rent office space in ‘Het Kantoor‘, or meet others in ‘Bar Wilson‘. The 2nd floor features an open meeting space in ‘Het Salon‘, as well as ‘Het Podium‘, where you can see and perform music, theatre, comedy and screenings.
There is ‘De Vloer‘ on floor 3, which literally is just a floor to rehearse, improvise, train or experiment. There is a whole creative workshop going on in ‘Het Werkhuis‘ on floor 4 and a silent room ‘De Stiltekamer‘ on floor 5.
WHICH ACTIVITIES TO DO?
The Travel Tester loves to review different types of tours and activities around the world.
From well-known tourist attractions to bucket list experiences and from guided tours to self-guided visits of historical places, interactive museums, viewpoints, local events and much more… if it looks interesting to us, we’ll test it!
No matter where you’re going, with our reviews you’ll know exactly where to find fun activities!
LUNCH AT FOODSTORMS CAFÉ
Update 2023: this café is now closed
Foodstorms Café is the latest pop-up at NEST, located on the 6th floor. They offer a lovely plant-based kitchen in a contemporary setting.
I believe that we should all become a bit more conscious about what we eat, so to experience that vegetarian/vegan food can actually be so tasty and filling was great to see. It definitely inspired me to do a bit more research and cook more without meat at home as well.
VISIT LIBRARY DE KROOK
With a name like that, of course I HAD to visit this new library of Ghent. It’s not often you hear the name ‘Krook’ and some of the Belgium people in our company had never even met anyone with that name.
In case you missed it: my last name is Krook! ‘Krook‘ means curve, or bend in a road or river (it can also mean the curve in a Shepard’s cane for example), so with this building standing in the curve of the river de Schelde, the name was chosen well.
While you might think that library’s are not really of this time anymore, I assure you that this library is worth a visit, because it will really surprise you what is going on here! De Krook is a place where all disciplines come together.
Because they are all under one roof, it’s so easy to communicate and come up with awesome new collaborations. In the building you can not only find the new city library, but also laboratoriums and offices of the University of Ghent and IMEC (a point of contact for innovators and entrepreneurs who want to explore the potential of advanced technologies), a café, a radio station and green spaces.
With even more development going on in this part of the city, it’s exciting to see what the future brings and how even more connected this city can be!
SEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS
Apart from the places that I’ve already mentioned in this guide, there is SO much more to see and things to do in Ghent Belgium, you can spend days and days here.
I took the morning to walk around the old city and discovered not only many historic buildings, but also plenty of new hotspots worth checking out.
Here are some of my favourites buildings:
WHERE TO STAY?
The Travel Tester loves to review different types of accommodation around the world.
From boutique hotels, B&B’s and hostels with a personal story or special theme to campsites with everything from back-to-basic to glamping facilities… if it looks interesting to us, we’ll test it!
No matter where you’re going, with our reviews you’ll know exactly where to find a cool place to stay!
MORE HOTSPOTS IN GHENT
You can eat and drink at pretty much every street corner in Ghent! Here are some places that caught my eye:
EVENING IN GHENT
HAVE DINNER AT LEPELBLAD
Onderbergen 40
Lepelblad serves creative, fresh and seasonal vegetables, meat and fish. They have a close partnership with the farmers and producers, which makes that you can follow the seasons on your plate.
I had dinner here all by myself, which usually doesn’t make for the best memories, but I must say that the staff was super friendly and the food amazing, so I had a nice evening after all. There was also Belgium Cider, so I can’t really complain :)
The atmosphere was super cozy at the restaurant, although I did think that with the black walls and practically no lighting except for the lamps on the ceiling that you can see in the picture below and some tea lights on the tables, it was a bit too dark for my taste. I like to still see what I eat! Other than that, I would definitely recommend the place. Of course, you could just go here for lunch, plenty of light then, I’m sure!
HAVE DINNER AT MÉMÉ GUSTA
Burgstraat 19
The concept of this restaurant is pure, Flemish dishes from ‘Grandmother’s Time’ in a lovely vintage setting. This restaurant was featured in a TV-show on pop-ups and became a real restaurant after the show ended. Here you can find dishes as beef stew and rice pudding and a couple of typical Belgium dishes from back in the days.
I appreciated the theme of the restaurant, but for me there wasn’t anything on the menu that I got really excited about to be honest.
I ended up having one of the starters as a main dish (shrimp croquettes with fries), but for me, this isn’t something I would normally go to a restaurant for. I found most of the mains a bit ‘difficult’ and while I am a reasonable adventurous eater, I just don’t like the typical Dutch and Belgium food in general.
If you’re into hearty foods like stews and hotchpotch/mashed potatoes and the like, this restaurant is probably for you, but if you don’t, you might want to pick the more elegant food over at Lepelblad instead during your one day in Ghent!
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PRACTICAL INFO
VISIT GHENT
Are you excited to visit Ghent in Belgium after reading our travel stories? With these tips, you can plan and book your trip with ease!
Tourism Office Websites:
TRANSPORT TO GHENT
From London, I took the Eurostar from London St. Pancras International to Brussels South. That was only 2 hours! From Brussels to Ghent, I took a local train (about 30 minutes). The Brussels to Ghent train connection was well sign-posted and easy to find! From Ghent Station, you need a tram into the city for your final destination.
On the way back, I took the train Ghent to Brussels again, which went fine, then I had an hour delay for the Eurostar. I have taken this train before and also had a delay, which apparently happens a lot, but you still have to show up on your normal time (about 45 minutes before departure), as you have to go through all the security checks (just like you’re flying). A bit of patience might come in handy on this route, and make sure to pack plenty of snacks! Unlike flying, on the Eurostar you can also bring liquids, so that’s great!
ACCOMMODATION IN GHENT
During my short stay, I had a very central hotel Ghent, as I stayed at the Marriott Ghent Hotel. Right in the Old Town, so perfect! The breakfast at the restaurant (buffet style, anything you want, including waffels!) was the best!
TOURS & ACTIVITIES IN GHENT
LEARN FLEMISH
Looking to learn Flemish? Check out this great guide with 70+ Flemish Dutch phrases for travel (with pronunciation!) by our blogging friend Michele from The Intrepid Guide >
MAP OF GHENT
DISCLAIMER
My visit Ghent trip was on invitation of Visit Flanders (Visit Vlaanderen). All photos, videos and opinions in this article are my own, as always.
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Zoe
Monday 11th of December 2017
Beautiful architecture and so many creative spaces to explore - I'm putting Ghent on my bucket list!
Nienke Krook
Friday 26th of January 2018
Ah, great to hear Zoe, I'm sure you'll love it there!