Explore: things you must do in Ghent

Gent (or Ghent in English) is a lovely city to visit when you’re exploring Belgium. Just like Bruges it offers a lot of cute medieval streets, canals, local delicacies and a wide range of shops.

When going to Gent by train, take off at Gent Dampoort. Then take the street across the station called Steendam. At the end of this street you’ll find the St Jacob church. The Vrijdagmarkt is located next to this church and the ideal starting point to explore Gent.

Kraanlei

A lovely street along the canal with small shops where you’ll find local products.

Eat cupcakes from Julie’s House

Julie’s House offers many different flavoured cupcakes, from caramel & chocolate to cuberdon. Address: Kraanlei 13

Gravensteen

This medieval castle is worth a visit if you like seeing a guillotine.

Korenlei / Graslei

One of the most beautiful spots in Gent to sit next to the water and watch the boats float by while enjoying a nice meal or an aperitivo. A lot of locals picnic at the water side.

St Michielshelling

I love this bridge because it offers a view of all the important towers and buildings of Gent. From here you spot the St Michiels church, St Niklaas church, Belfort & St Baafs cathedral. Besides these medieval buildings you also get a nice view of the Graslei and the Korenlei.

Boat trip on the canals

Take one of the sightseeing boats to see Gent from the water. Stunning! It only costs 7€.

Werregarenstraat

I discovered this street by accident. It’s a very narrow graffiti street between Hoogpoort and Onderstraat. Its appearance changes constantly as the artists constantly add and change graffiti decorations.

Taste cuberdons

I absolutely adore these pink sweet “noses”. They are my absolute favourite! Just try these typical Gent sweets!

Shopping

Gent has a lot of interesting shopping streets. The big and well known departments stores are located at the Veldstraat and Langemunt. If you want smaller unique stores to shop I advise to go to Korte Meer, Voldersstraat, St Niklaasstraat, Serpentstraat and Mageleinstraat.

If you only have one day I advise you to do this little walk around Gent:

 Have you ever been to Gent? What did you do? Any favourites? Share it in the comments down below!