Ghent is a port city in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the third largest city in the country, after Brussels and Antwerp. The historic city is also home to University of Ghent. The city is a major attraction in Belgium for its well preserved historic city center and picturesque neighborhoods.
Ghent is well connected via train from major cities in Belgium like Brussels and Liege and also accessible from Amsterdam, Cologne, Paris and Luxembourg City in about 3 hours or less. Major highways between Amsterdam, Brussels and Cologne are accessible from Ghent.
The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Late Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300. After the late 16th century Ghent became a less important city, resulting in an extremely well-preserved historic centre, that now makes Ghent an important destination of tourism.
Much of the city’s medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. Its centre is a carfree area. Highlights are St. Bavo’s Cathedral with the Ghent Altarpiece, the belfry, the Gravensteen castle, and the splendid architecture along the old Graslei harbour. Ghent has established a blend between comfort of living and history; it is not a city-museum. The city of Ghent also houses three béguinages and numerous churches including St. Jacob’s Church, St. Nicholas’ Church, St. Michael’s Church and St. Stefanus’ Church.
In Ghent and other regions of East Flanders, bakeries sell a donut-shaped bun called a “mastel” which is basically a bagel. Other local delicacies are the praline chocolates from local producers such as Leonidas, the cuberdons or ‘neuzekes’ (‘noses’), cone-shaped purple jelly-filled candies, and ‘babelutten’ (‘babblers’) hard butterscotch-like candy. A local pub is famous for having 500 types of beer offered in its menu.
The city is host to some big cultural events such as the Ghent Festival, the International Film Festival of Ghent and the Gent Festival van Vlaanderen. Also, every five years, an extensive botanical exhibition (Gentse Floraliën) takes place in Flanders Expo in Ghent, attracting numerous visitors to the city.
The Ghent Festival (Gentse Feesten in Dutch) is an annual festival that lasts for ten days. It has been held for more than 50 years (since 1969) and is attended by about 1–1.5 million visitors.
Take a virtual tour of Ghent in the video clip below.
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