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Ghent is a city in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. Ghent is a city of history. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Europe, second only to Paris (the Italian penisula excluded). This can be seen clearly when viewing the imposing architecture of churches and the houses of rich traders.
The whole of the city center is restored in this fashion, and still breathes the atmosphere of a thriving late-medieval city state. As the city council made the center free of cars, it is now a very welcoming and open area, which does not fail to impress even the people who live there.
Ghent (Gent in Dutch; Gand in French) is a city with a population of a quarter of a million. As such, the inhabitants praise the city for its interesting crossover between open cosmopolitanism and the quiet atmosphere of a provincial town. Ghent is thriving as many young people choose to live here instead of in the narrow-minded countryside or the crowded and disintegrating city centers of Brussels and Antwerp
Ghent is a city of history. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Europe, second only to Paris (the Italian penisula excluded). This can be seen clearly when viewing the imposing architecture of churches and the houses of rich traders. The whole of the city center is restored in this fashion, and still breathes the atmosphere of a thriving late-medieval city state. As the city council made the center free of cars, it is now a very welcoming and open area, which does not fail to impress even the people who live there.
Ghent is also a university city with more than 100,000 students. As such, its streets are filled with young people. But, unlike Leuven, another university town in Flanders, youth is not the only category of people living there. There is an interesting mixture of foreigners who came to live there, or artists, amongst the native people of Ghent. Interestingly, other than the smaller provincial cities or the bigger city of Antwerp, this mixture makes the people more tolerant and open-minded. This atmosphere seeps into every aspect of city life. Many people of Ghent truly see the place like home, and are very proud to live there, seeing it as a place that will always welcome them back home.
As Ghent is a part of Flanders, the main language is Dutch. Many of the inhabitants will be happy to answer you in English and/or French. German is also quite prevalent.
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Unless you know what you are doing or have a good book, get the tour. There are a couple of walking tours which are great.
Great places are the three towers of Ghent: the cathedral of St. Bavo (with the famous medieval altarpiece painting 'Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'), the church of St. Nicholas and the Belfort (Belfry). The Graslei and Korenmarkt are fine places to walk and relax along the river while you admire 13th century trading houses. Also the Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts) and Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market) are must-sees. Around the medieval core of the city, there is also lots of impressive 18th and 19th century architecture. Especially the 'socialist' Jugendstill/Art Nouveau buildings from around 1900 like Vooruit are unique in their kind.
Ghent has two castles, Gravensteen and Gerard de duivelsteen. Near Gravensteen you'll find very nice neighbourhood called Patershol. It has a sphere of small medieval town.
It also has a Museum of Modern Art, named S.M.A.K. (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst)
- The Gentse Feesten (Festivities of Ghent) 10 days of free festivals all around the historical centre of Ghent, during the second part of July. Millions of visitors are coming from everywhere to enjoy this big city party.
Ghent provides an excellent and affordable sample of Flemish cuisine, which is one of Europe's finest as it combines French delicacy with German sturdiness. Try some local specialties like mussels, spare ribs or 'stoverij' (a kind of tender meat cooked for three hours in dark beer with a brown gravy) with French fries - or, should I say, Belgian fries.
The restaurants on Korenmarkt are a good deal, reasonably priced; the real upmarket restaurants are to be found in the 14th century quarter called 'Patershol', near the Castle.
There is also a big Turkish community in Ghent, centred around Sleepstraat a bit further north, which is home to numerous Turkish pizza places. They are amazingly cheap for the delicious food you get and sometimes even better than in Turkey.
World War I Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial is 48 kilometers (30 miles) from Ghent in Waregem, along the Lille-Gent AutoRoute E-17. Open daily except for December 25 and January 1; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The final resting place for 368 American military dead lost during the liberation of Belgium. The chapel is inscribed with the names of 43 Americans whose remains were never found or identified. Free.
For more information on Ghent, visit the source at Wikitravel
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