May 2025
Visiting Ghent was like walking into a museum. The whole city, every corner, was photogenic and whispered a story or two.
It is the third biggest city in Belgium (after Brussels and Antwerp) with a population of 265,000 people & the feel is not a cozy little town. But it still looks like a fairy tale town on steroids.
We checked into a spacious 3 bedroom house (Airbnb) with ample parking, 12 minutes outside of the center. Then we drove to one of the parking structures surrounding the old town center. As soon as we walked out of the concrete structure, the splendor that is Ghent hit us with a bang.
Our eyes were happy to be filled with beautiful sites, but the stomachs were growling since we had not had a real lunch.
Ghent is a major port city – a 58 km canal connects it to the North Sea. Ghent University adds 50,000 students to the city. These factors definitely seem to influence the vibrancy of the town.
Ghent deserved at least a couple of full days. If you want to walk into any of the buildings, you will need even more time. They have plenty of museums, too.
Small Wide World 