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Ghent what to see in one day? What a great dilemma!
Here is an indecent proposal
Ghent what to see in one day? Without a doubt a great dilemma. There is so much to see, do, travel and enjoy this beautiful city that it is difficult to choose a perfect plan for just one day. The truth is that if we have to recommend something, it is that you enjoy a minimum of two days in this city, just as we recommended Bruges city.
On route through Belgium in a motorhome, we discover Belgium Flanders and in particular its cities, towns, natural parks and most charming castles. We also discovered Belgium with children, with our children, and with our dog Max.
Ghent Belgium, without a doubt, is one of the destinations that we have liked the most on the trip, it is an essential without a doubt like Bruges if you go to Belgium. A medieval fairytale city.
Ghent has a thousand plans, museums, activities, monuments and places to visit. It is difficult to choose a plan. That is why I propose to you what we would do in Ghent in one day, choosing from everything we experienced in three intense days in Ghent Belgium.
And if you dare, in the end we extend with some more plan for two days. In addition, together you will also find the details of where to eat and where to sleep if you go to Ghent by motorhome or you go to Ghent by camper van. But in Ghent you will find a thousand hotels too.
To start ... 2 maxims
1 Know a minimum about Belgium. We make it easy for you, here is a basic mini guide about Belgium and Ghent city
Get to know the language spoken in Ghent city, where is Ghent to know how to get to Ghent, learn to say thank you in Flemish, discover what is the typical food of Belgium and Ghent city and have a minimum of knowledge about Belgium and Ghent with this mini practical guide. We make it easy for you.
2 Getting around by bike, a must to enjoy Ghent and Belgium in a few days
To move around Belgium freely and enjoy it, you have to bring your bike or rent one. Without a doubt, it is an essential that transforms the trip. Getting around by bike in Ghent Belgium is easy, safe and comfortable. Thousands of flat bike lanes safeguarded from traffic make you explore the city, its beautiful parks and its thousand corners in an agile, fun and very safe way.
And in Ghent if you don't have your own bike you are lucky, there are many places that will rent it to you and for a very reasonable price. Visit this Ghent tourism website to see all the places where you can rent a bike in Ghent Belgium.
Ghent to see in one day per order. We can't make it easier for you
Here are our suggestions of what to see in one day in Ghent city. In other words, we will see the essential Ghent, which for us are the most beautiful and surprising places in Ghent Belgium.
One of the articles we have made about Ghent and Bruges in one day.
FIRST HOUR IN THE MORNING. Go to the old fish market, the Official Tourist Office and the Castillo de los Condes or Graventeen castle to warm up your engines
It's 9 a.m. and we started the Ghent city tour with joy. A route that will exhaust us as good travelers, but with which we will enjoy the beauty.
The first thing we are going to do is go to the nerve center of Ghent Belgium towards its Tourist Office. The Tourist Office of Ghent Belgium It is located right in front of the Castle of the Counts of Flanders, the Gravensteen castle, and inside what was the old fish market of the city, very close to the meat market as well.
Inside the old fish market, we have the Tourist Information Office of Ghent Belgium. A place where apart from getting a map of the city they will help us with all our doubts.
Also here we can get the card City Card Gent. With it we were able to see all the museums, use public transport and even get on the boats and have a rental bike for a whole day without having to pay anything else. It is a very good option. There is the 48-hour one for € 36, which you already amortize by seeing the Castle, riding a tourist boat, taking the rental bike and using public transport. Of course, I recommend you only buy the card for adults, for children most monuments and museums are free for those under 18 years old and they will only have to pay on the boats.
Before moving on, look at the square outside the office, there are some street lamps, well they are special street lamps, they are turned on every time a child is born in Ghent. The hospital has them connected and turns them on to notify that a new baby has been born. A curiosity.
And since we are in front of the Castle of the Counts of Flanders of Ghent, there is no better place to start to know this city than this surprising and beautiful place. An impressive medieval stone castle and essential in your visit.
Within its walls they will explain to us through an audio guide in Spanish, part of the history of Ghent city. An audio guide with a lot of spark and humor that will surely make you laugh. Now, be careful with the little ones. The same laugh that will bring you out can make you blush a bit if you leave it to the little ones.
With the entrance to the Ghent castle of the Counts of Flanders includes the audio guide in Spanish for everyone over 8 years old. I think 8 years is a bit tight, or that or I'm a bit of a puritan ejhehehe. But my little ones hallucinated a little and I more ... so between wars and sex there is the auditoguide of your choice.
Children under 18 years old do not pay admission to the Ghent Castle of the Counts of Flanders and adults are € 12. For Covid issue you have to book your ticket in advance online from the Ghent tourism website: https://visit.gent.be/nl/boek-je-activiteit-gent remember. For here and for all places in Belgium, always reserve your ticket online before you go.
Continue entering and locating yourself in Ghent city with a boat trip along its two rivers and canals
Ghent what to visit? The best of Ghent can be seen by boat. The tourist boat trip was a must for us. It was not until we did that that we settled well in the city. Go for their 2 rivers and their canals is to visit its main vertebrae and its most romantic and beautiful corners of Ghent. Without a doubt, this has given it many points to be a must of this Ghent article to see in one day.
The best thing is that in Ghent there is a tourist boat called Hop on Hop Off with which you can walk and get off and on at its different stops. They call him the Ghent water tram. Now, it only works on weekends, be careful.
The price is € 13 for an adult and € 10 for a child from 4 to 11 years old. a reasonable price for a walk of almost 1 hour with live explanations in a little boat that you can get on and off at its stops. Go to one of the piers and you will love doing it, it is worth it. The hop on hop off have hours, approximately every hour. The rest of the tourist boats leave continuously. You can see where they are taken and schedules here: https://visit.gent.be/es/ver-y-hacer/tranvia-de-agua-hop-hop.
Walk the streets of Ghent and lose yourself in them
Ghent what to see in one day is an article dilemma. An aubergine getting into prioritizing. And it is that everything is so beautiful in Gent, Ghent Belgium. After the boat you will start to position yourself. So, now it's time to wander around and see the places that from the boat have caught your attention in the distance on the boat.
Above all, do not miss the cereal quay, Yslei and Korenlei, with very old houses where all the imported cereal arrived and Flanders taxes were paid. Also do not forget to walk around the Castle of Gerardo el Diablo (they called him that because of how dark he was, not because he was bad) and jump in the park next door where there are elastic mats. And finally, don't forget to go over the San Miguel bridge over the River Lys and take a photo of the three towers of Ghent, the place with the best perspective on them.
TIME TO EAT. It's time to eat well, enjoy a typical meal in Ghent while you think about which museum you are going to visit in the afternoon
And all the strolling whets your appetite. It is time to eat and rest a bit, while we return to the guide and prioritize what to continue watching. Remember that you are in Ghent Belgium, here you eat between 12 and 13 hours. And even if you don't like it, I recommend that you eat at that time. Why? Well, because at 17:XNUMX p.m. they close everything, so you better eat now and take advantage of the afternoon, you will appreciate it later.
GHENT RESTAURANTS WHERE TO EAT
Well, look there are so many restaurants in Ghent that I could not list them all. One day we ate in a very typical Belgian place, especially if you go to Belgium with children, the Balls and Glory in Ghent. A restaurant where for € 15 you eat a plate of the typical Belgian giant stuffed meatball (to choose) with mashed potatoes and vegetables or typical salad and where water and fruit are free. The truth is that very rich and the kids liked the site.
It may be an option, but as I tell you there are thousands! Above all, look at the guide above, you have the typical Belgian dishes that you should not forget to try.
AN ENTERTAINING AND CULTURAL AFTERNOON. You can't leave without seeing a couple of the good museums or monuments in Ghent or without seeing the Mystic Lamb by the Van Eyck brothers. End the afternoon with culture
Another essential of Ghent to see in one day is one of the following museums and monuments that we loved (apart from the Gravensteen castle). Visit the municipal tower and Belfort Belfry of Ghent It's a good idea, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It goes up in part by elevator so don't worry and its views are impressive. Besides I would go to visit the St. Bavo's Cathedral, Mystic Lamb and Church of San Nicolás as a must in Ghent and all within the same area. And if you go with children to the Alijn's house, where to see with them how time passes for everyone.
Snack and don't miss the chocolates, waffles, and Belgian fries
After so much culture, don't forget to buy chocolates and to eat a good full waffle or if you are salty some good Belgian fries. It is not a question of getting fat, it is a question of knowing the gastronomy of Ghent city and Belgium well. And you know, Ghent where to eat? Anywhere! It is full of cute little shops that make waffles and chocolates for you.
Now that everything has closed, stroll along the banks of the river Lys and Scheldt and its canals
It is already after 17 pm, after the waffle and chocolate, everything has closed in Ghent city. Well, what better plan than to walk along the promenade next to the Lys and Scheldt rivers. Posing photos are worth it and if you go with children you will always find a park to stop.
On your walk do not forget to see the Krook Library of Ghent by the river or the Abbey of San PedroApart from going through the side of the canal that joins the river Lys and the Scheldt, where you can stop on a little terrace to have a drink.
TIME TO DINNER. Play a delicious dinner, do not miss the nightlife of Ghent Belgium
Again, so much walking has whetted our appetite. It's time for dinner, but this time it's a little terrace in a nice place. I recommend you go to a good restaurant, one of those with an elegant bohemian touch that is in Ghent and that there you delight yourself with its Moules Frites or its typical stew or shrimp croquettes, salmon or its stone entrecote. And all marinated with good Belgian beers.
GHENT RESTAURANTS WHERE TO EAT
There are thousands of restaurants open for dinner. I can tell you about two that we loved. One was the Du Progress and the other the Belfort barKaffe. . Excellent restaurants, food and decoration with beautiful music and super central with a terrace overlooking the three beautiful towers of Ghent. I would certainly repeat in both.
And if you dare to stay two days in Ghent ...
In two days in Ghent I would finish seeing the museums that you could not see of the ones I told you on the first day. And I would also go to the area of the art museums and STAM to see some of them. Half an hour from the center walking you can visit the museums of fine arts (you have the classical or modern art) and / or the STAM museum of the City of Ghent, although we found this very weak. In addition, in that area you have a beautiful park where you can get lost and walk.
Camping Ghent and other options if you go to Ghent by motorhome, caravan or you go to Ghent by camper van to spend the night
Ghent by motorhome is not as easy as Bruges by motorhome. There is no motorhome area so there are only two options: in a parking lot or in the Ghent campsite or two more that are around it. Ghent campsites are quite far from the center and the price is around € 40 per night for two adults and two children.
We choose a parking in this case where they let you spend the night in a motorhome or camper. The parking is a free parking and ride next to a Decathlon and an ikea furniture store. A parking and ride is a place where you park on the outskirts of the center of a big city and you can take a bus in this case totally free that takes you to the center in this case of Ghent city (it only has one stop).
Ghent Belgium photo gallery
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