Gent (Dutch); Gand (French)

Ghent is Belgium's best-kept secret — a medieval city of exceptional architectural grandeur, a thriving student culture, one of the world's great Flemish Primitive paintings, an internationally recognised music and festival culture, and a food scene that has embraced vegetarian cuisine more enthusiastically than almost any other European city. Between the tourist hordes of Bruges and the capital bustle of Brussels, Ghent stands as the most complete and most liveable of the Flemish historic cities. The Graslei and Korenlei — facing rows of medieval guild houses reflected in the Leie canal — form one of the most beautiful urban waterfronts in northern Europe. From the Sint-Michielsbrug bridge, the view encompasses the towers of the Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Saint Nicholas Church, and the Belfry — three medieval towers rising together in what is rightly called one of the finest city panoramas in Flanders. The Gravensteen, a 12th-century castle of the Counts of Flanders rising improbably from the city centre, is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in northern Europe. The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb — the Van Eyck altarpiece in Saint Bavo Cathedral, the most influential painting of the Northern Renaissance — justifies Ghent's status as a major cultural pilgrimage site. The Museum voor Schone Kunsten (MSK) and the SMAK (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) provide further exceptional art experiences. Ghent has a youthful, creative energy underpinned by Ghent University's 44,000 students. The Patershol neighbourhood — a warren of medieval lanes between the castle and the canal, filled with intimate restaurants and candlelit bars — and the Overpoort student bar street capture two very different sides of the city's social character. The Vrijdagmarkt square is the traditional heart of popular Ghent life. The Gentse Feesten — ten days of free outdoor music, theatre, and street performance each July — is Belgium's most popular annual festival, drawing a million visitors to what becomes temporarily one of the greatest open-air parties in Europe.

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Population

500,000

Weather

Ghent has a temperate oceanic climate, mild and wet, broadly similar to Brussels and Antwerp. Its inland position in East Flanders means it is slightly less maritime than Antwerp. Spring (March–May): 5–17°C (41–63°F). Variable, warming from April. The canals and towers are beautiful in spring light. Summer (June–August): 14–25°C (57–77°F). Warm and often pleasant. The Gentse Feesten in July transform the city. Autumn (September–November): 7–16°C (45–61°F). Cooling and increasingly grey. Cosy café culture. Winter (December–February): 1–7°C (34–45°F). Cold and grey. Christmas market along the medieval waterfront is atmospheric.

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