Just 25 minutes from Bruges by train but a world apart in mood, Ghent wears its medieval grandeur lightly. The historic core is walkable in an afternoon; the real reward is drifting into the quieter quarters. These ten stops are where we'd start.
1. Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts)
A genuine moated medieval fortress in the middle of the city, with ramparts to climb and a famously irreverent audio guide. Start here for the lay of the land.
2. St Bavo's Cathedral & the Ghent Altarpiece
Home to Van Eyck's 1432 "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" — a founding masterpiece of European painting and one of the most stolen artworks in history. Book a morning slot.
3. The Belfry of Ghent
A UNESCO bell tower topped by a gilded dragon, with a lift to the best central view in the city. The middle of the three towers along the skyline.
4. Graslei & Korenlei
The medieval harbour quays, lined with centuries of guild houses reflected in the water. The postcard heart of Ghent — and where locals sit out with a drink at sunset.
5. St Michael's Bridge
The single best vantage point in the city: the three great towers lined up over the canal. Magical at blue hour when everything is floodlit.
6. Patershol
Ghent's oldest quarter — a tangle of car-free cobbled lanes now full of small, characterful restaurants. Wander it after dark when the centre empties out.
7. Werregarenstraat (the graffiti alley)
A lane the city handed to street artists in 1995 — every surface legally sprayed and repainted constantly. Never the same twice. Pure Ghent.
8. Vrijdagmarkt
The great civic square that's hosted markets and revolts for 700 years, ringed with café terraces. Liveliest on weekend market mornings.
9. Dulle Griet (the giant cannon)
A five-metre, 16-tonne medieval supergun beached on a square by the Vrijdagmarkt — and the brown café nearby that takes a shoe as deposit for its tallest beer.
10. Huis van Alijn
A gentle, much-loved museum of everyday 20th-century life set around a hidden almshouse courtyard — whose café and garden are free to sit in.
Want the full local guide to Ghent?
Hidden gems, the best food and drink, a map with walking directions, and a "Guide Me" planner that suggests what to do right now — for less than the price of a coffee.
See the Ghent passes — from €2,50