Every travel adventure starts with expectations. Spending a long weekend in Ghent Belgium was no exception. I expected to experience a historic city center with a rich heritage, beautiful architecture and delicious chocolate—and I did! I didn’t expect to discover innovative art installations, comical audio tours and sweet wildlife sightings—but I did!
Located in the province of East Flanders, Ghent is the third largest city in Belgium. But in the Late Middle Ages (AD 1250-1500), this Flemish city was the largest and richest in northern Europe. Its wealth was derived from trading and textiles.
Evidence of those prosperous times is still visible today especially around the site of the city’s medieval harbor. Two marvelously-preserved quays—the Graslei (Grass Quay) and the Korenlei (Corn Quay)—flank the Leie River. It is understandably one of the most photographed sights in the city.
Medieval Ghent was dependent on tradesmen such as boatmen and grain weighers. Powerful associations, called guilds, were formed to manage and oversee the practice of each trade and craft. The guilds built elaborate, ornate buildings to demonstrate their status, conduct their business and house their officers. Here’s a closer look at the splendid façades of a few of those historic buildings. The Renaissance building (below center) was originally the guild house for stonemasons. It is known as Den Enghel (The Angel) for the beautifully carved stone angel on the façade. The building on the right is the Eerste Korenmetershuis (First Corn Measurer’s House) where city officials once weighed and graded corn.
The architectural treasures of Korenlei, along the opposite side of the river, are equally charming especially when reflected in the still waters of early morning.
The area is especially beautiful at night when the buildings are illuminated and the sparkling lights are reflected in the river’s dark waters.
This beautiful stone arch bridge crossing the Leie River is the famous St Michael’s Bridge.
“The neo-Gothic St Michael’s Bridge offers fine views back over the towers and turrets that pierce the Ghent skyline – just as it was meant to: the bridge was built to provide visitors to the Great Exhibition [in 1913] with a vantage point from which to admire the city center.” says Phil Lee in his book Rough Guide Directions Bruges and Ghent. The below photo was taken from St Michael’s Bridge and shows the Former Post Office (on left) and St Nicholas’ Church (center).
Atop a lamppost at the center of the bridge, is a striking bronze sculpture of Saint Michael defeating a dragon.
The Ghent Belfry is another well-known landmark. It is one of 33 belfries in Belgium which have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. “High towers built in the heart of urban areas, often dominating the principal square, the belfries are essential elements in the organization and representation of the towns to which they belong. … A practical building housing the communal bells, conserving charters and treasures, where city council meetings were held, serving as a watch tower and a prison, the belfry has, over the centuries, become the symbol of power and prosperity of the communes.” says the UNESCO website.
We climbed the 366 steps to the top of the belfry tower for stunning views of the city. Pictured below is the east end of St Nicholas’ Church.
For a different view of Ghent, we participated in a Chocolate Tour of the city. Most chocolate lovers would be aware of Belgium’s excellent reputation for chocolate making. There are, in fact, more than 320 chocolateries in Belgium ranging from world-famous chocolate brands such as Godiva, Leonidas and Neuhaus to local chocolate artisans. I was surprised to learn it all began in Ghent with the buying and selling of chocolate in the 17th century. Our tour included tastings at several chocolatiers and sweet shops. Pictured below are a violin sculpted from chocolate by Vandenbouhede; Ghentse Neuzen (noses), cone-shaped candies filled with raspberry-flavored jelly which are unique to Ghent; Suikerharten (sugar hearts) from Temmerman; and enticing pralines from Leonidas.
As mentioned at the top of this blog post, we discovered a number of unexpected delights in Ghent. One of those was the flashing streetlights in Sint-Veerleplein square. “In partnership with the Ghent City Council, artist Alberto Garutti conceived of and integrated his work of art entitled Ai Nati Oggi (“For Those Born Today”) directly into the infrastructure of the city. Every time a baby is born in one of Ghent’s maternity wards, the parents are given the option to push a button connected to these street lamps, which in turn causes them to flash. … The surge of light provides a beautiful way of sharing the new parents’ joy with the entire town, a quiet testament to the birth that is seen by everyone filling the popular square and pubs nearby. The lights symbolize hope for the future generation, while also changing the future history of the square the streetlights line, as it had been used for executions throughout the Middle Ages.” reports the Atlas Obscura website. Our chocolate tour guide told us the flashing of the lights is met with great enthusiasm and everyone cheers and claps to welcome the newest citizen to Ghent. What a concept!
The flashing streetlights are located in front of Gravensteen Castle aka the Castle of the Counts.
This imposing stone castle was once a prison known for torturous practices. But there’s so much more to the story of this medieval fortress. And there’s no better way to hear that story than to take the Gravensteen Castle audio tour. The tour is conducted by Wouter Deprez a well-known Flemish comedian. It is, by far, the funniest and most entertaining audio tour I’ve ever heard. As Deprez puts it: “Witchcraft, tournaments, adultery, and hefty religious unrest: the Castle of the Counts brings together all my hobbies. It’s a hugely interesting adventure for me to show the way in this fantastic fortress.”
The audio tour is complemented by a series of humorous banners throughout the castle by illustrator Randall Casaer.
I discovered another delightful surprise while exploring the streets of Ghent—the below art installation called The Birds of Mr Maeterlinck. This artwork was created by David Lesort and Arnaud Giroud of Pitaya design studio. It features a flock of origami-styled, white, metal birds nestled in a tree.
At night, it becomes a striking swarm of blue birds soaring above the water of the canal. The artwork was inspired by the 1908 fairy tale play “L’Oiseau Bleu” (The Blue Bird), written by Belgian playwright and poet Maurice Maeterlink, about two children searching for the blue bird of happiness.
The final unexpected delight I’d like to share in this blog post comes from the Ghent University Botanical Garden. The gardens are lovely with a huge selection of well-maintained plant species from all over the world. We spent several pleasant hours there but, to be honest, I spent most of my time crouched beside a small pond admiring a family of ducks. The birds, Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra), are common in Europe but do not occur in North America. They seemed quite comfortable around people and I was able to get several great shots while the parents fed their babies.
This next shot was my favorite—I love the sweet sentiment of the parent duck caring for the duckling. This was definitely not something I expected to witness in the Belgian city of Ghent!
More Info
My recent trip to the Netherlands and Belgium was packed with fun and inspiration. I’m sharing the experience in a series of blog posts including:
. Come Tiptoe Through the Tulips which is packed with all things tulip including a visit to Noorwijkerhout in the midst of the Bulb Region, the world-famous spring gardens at Keukenhof, and tulip-related highlights from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
. Milling the Water of Kinderdijk in which I share my visits—an afternoon bike ride and a sunrise hike—to the beautiful windmills of the Kinderdijk.
. Painting Delftware in Delft about the charming city of Delft and our experience trying a centuries-old painting tradition at the historic Royal Delft factory.
. Expected and Unexpected Delights of Ghent (this post).
. Artworks as Big as Walls in Amsterdam sharing our experience visiting STRAAT, the graffiti and street art museum, in Amsterdam’s edgy arts community at NDSM.
For information about visiting Ghent Belgium, check out the Visit Gent website.
See the World Heritage Convention United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website for more information about this organization or to reference the UNESCO listing for the Belfries of Belgium and France.
Check out the Atlas Obscura website for curious and wondrous attractions at your next destination.
See the Historische Huizen Gent (Historic Houses Ghent) website for information about the Castle of the Counts/ Gravensteen Castle.
See the Visit Gent website for more information about the Ghent University Botanical Garden.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Every travel adventure starts with expectations.
2. Research your destination to ensure expectations are realistic.
3. Be on the look out for unexpected delights.
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