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One Day in Ghent, Belgium? Complete Guide To A Perfect City Break!

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

* www.visitflanders.com

* visit.gent.be

DAY TRIP TO GHENT IN BELGIUM

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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!

[I TRAVEL FOR CREATIVITY]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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.

[I TRAVEL FOR FOOD]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
The Travel Tester || Creative & Cultural Travel Blog || Work With Us

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 >

[I TRAVEL FOR INNOVATION]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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.

[I TRAVEL FOR CREATIVITY]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Want to adopt an old library plant? You can at NEST!
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
In the Swishing Store, you can trade old clothes for new ones!
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Bar Wilson
The Travel Tester || Creative & Cultural Travel Blog

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.

[I TRAVEL FOR FOOD]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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!

[I TRAVEL FOR CULTURE]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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:

[I TRAVEL FOR HISTORY]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Incredible building at the Korenmarkt, with a supermarket, shops and cocktail bar
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Groot Vleeshuis (Great Butcher’s Hall)
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Gravensteen (Preserved 10th-century moated castle with an armory museum, plus panoramic city views)
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
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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!

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Het Belfort van Gent, bell tower built between 1313 & 1380 with a number of later additions & key role in the city’s past
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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:

[I TRAVEL FOR FOOD]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Gentse Gruut Stadsbrouwerij (City Brewery) – Rembert Dodoensdreef 1
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Otomat (pizza with a twist – the dough is made with brewer’s yeast and the pizzas feature surprising combinations of toppings) – Kleine Vismarkt 3
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Yuzu Chocolate Shop – Walpoortstraat 11/A
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
WASBAR Ghent (do your laundry while enjoying a coffee, cocktail or lunch) – Korenmarkt 37
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
MIE VIE (100% Vegan Food) – Serpentstraat 28
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
And a nice place for souvenirs: “Mus in een Plas” (original cards & stationary)

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!

[I TRAVEL FOR FOOD]

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!

[I TRAVEL FOR FOOD]

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
The Travel Tester || Creative & Cultural Travel Blog

WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT?

There is so much to explore in the world, how do you decide where to go next?

The Travel Tester is all about mindful travel and we love matching your passions to destinations on earth. So whether your travel for food, nature, creativity, history, culture, innovation, adrenaline, good karma or personal growth, we’ll have suggestions for you wherever you go.

Click the button below for more information and all our travel guides:

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!

Save money on airport extra’s such as parking, airport transfers or lounge access on Holiday Extras.
Flying via Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam? Make sure to download this € 5,- voucher for a nice discount at See Buy Fly.
A great airport hotel at Schiphol is CitizenM, or go for the budget option with YOTELAIR.
For the best deals on train travel, have a look on: either NS International, Trainline, Omio Trains or Eurail.
For the best (airport) car rental options, we recommend Hertz and Sunny Cars.

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!

HOTELS & HOSTELS > Booking.com
HOLIDAY HOMES > BelvillaMusjroom StaysAirBnbInterhome
HOUSESITTING > Trusted Housesitters
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Marriott Ghent Hotel
One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester
Marriott Ghent Hotel

TOURS & ACTIVITIES IN GHENT

DEALS ON TOURS & ACTIVITIES > Get Your GuideTiqetsViatorIsango!
LOCAL TRAVEL > EvaneosWithLocalsViaHero
SPORTS, EVENTS, MUSIC & THEATRE > TicketmasterSportsEvents 365

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 >

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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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ADD TO YOUR VISION BOARD

One Day in Ghent, Belgium - See The Highlights With These Tips || The Travel Tester

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!