The city of Ghent, pronounced "Gent", is the capital town of Oost-Vlaanderen (East Flanders) province. Many people say it’s the "wanna be" Bruges or the poor sister town to Bruges, but I disagree. I think this town has so many wonderful things to see and is so different from Bruges and Brussels in so many ways. I mean, okay - overall it is not as pretty as Bruges and certainly not as busy as Brussels, but it’s still very nice. We booked a day trip through Viator. Viator is an Internet site that books tours throughout Europe. They don’t actually give any tours. In Brussels, Viator uses De Boeck Tours. They picked us up at our hotel at 9am and drove us to Central Station, where we met a large coach bus.
The tour was a day trip to Ghent and Bruges. It’s definitely worth a trip to both cities if time allows. The predominant language here is Flemish, although you will hear French and English on occasion as well. It’s definitely a place to invest in a good map if you plan to spend the day exploring, as the streets become very winding. It’s basically a medieval city filled with beautiful, old buildings, and churches. Ghent’s three famous towers include Belfort, Saint Nicholas’ Church, and St. Bavo’s Church. Belfort, aka Belfry (09/223-99-22), once served as a watchtower for the city and stands almost 300 feet tall. Built in the early 1300s and open to climb/take the elevator to the top, since 1377, the structure has been topped with a gilded copper weather vane in the shape of a dragon, which is the city's symbol of freedom. The Belfort offers some incredible views of Ghent, as well as a collection of carillon bells, the clock mechanism, and a small museum within. The current 53-bell carillon is claimed by experts to be one of the best in the world and is located on the top floor. The day we were there, it was very foggy and overcast, as you can see in my pictures. Even still, the views were breathtaking, and on a clear day, I’m sure you could see the entire city. Admission is 3 euros for adults, 1.75 for seniors, .90 for children, and kids are free.
Saint Nicholas’ Church was built in the 11th century in a Romanesque style. It was destroyed a century later after two disastrous fires and eventually rebuilt by merchants. The Tower was the first belfry in Ghent and dates back to 1300. During the French Revolution, the church was used as a stable – can you imagine? Overall, the church was pretty, but simple--not even close to St. Bavo’s in size or beautiful décor and fixtures. Sint-Baafskathedraal, or St. Bavo’s Church, as it is most well-known, includes Gothic, Romanesque, and baroque architecture. Admission is free, and it is open daily, with various hours depending on the day and season, 09/225-16-26. The outside is large but unimpressive, I thought. Inside you will find incredible paintings, sculptures, tombs, and the famous "Adoration of the Holy Lamb". It’s a masterpiece by artists Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. It’s twenty-four separate scenes (panels) and is housed in a special chapel (with an additional 2.50-euro fee for admission). This church has a huge pipe organ inside and unbelievable stained glass. There was someone playing the pipe organ while we were inside, and it was amazing. There is a nice-size gift shop at the front entrance where they sold books in many languages, postcards, crosses, etc.
The Belfort, St. Nicholas, and St. Bavo’s Church are all in the same area, along with several souvenir, lace, and chocolate shops. In front of Saint Nicholas, we found a woman selling poffertjes (we hadn’t seen them since Amsterdam) from a little booth. They are the small Dutch pancakes and are SO tasty. My husband and I almost fell over when we saw her, and they were only 2.50 euros a dish, as well. Made the trip to Ghent just so much better. If you’ve ever tasted them you would agree. The ride to Ghent took less than 1 hour from Brussels (Ghent is 30 miles North West of Brussels). It’s a pretty city that we had unfortunately less than two hours to spend in. It is feasible to take the train from Central Station to Ghent for about $40 per person, round-trip. It is also very easy to catch one of the north-south trams to St. Pieters, the main train station, once in town. I would definitely come back to explore further if we ever found ourselves in Belgium again: www.viator.com , The tour provided a guide that spoke in three languages. Recommended.