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Christmas in Ghent

 
We owed this visit to our friends who live in Ghent for a long time, so we spent some days in Ghent before Christmas. Ghent is a university town in Belgium’s flamand region full with history and a particular mood.

 


Travel

We went by car from Amsterdam for about 2 hours. We used to get around by tram and on foot. I liked that you can buy public transport tickets with SMS, but the local people use NFC cards.

 

Entertaiment

Since Ghent is an university town thus, entertainment is more equipped to the lives of college students. Most of the party places are in the city center and they are open on weekdays. The places where college students aren’t going to often like restaurants and bars usually open in the weekend and are more expensive than the places for students. It is worth tasting the local foods and true Belgian beers.

 

History and attractions (without claiming completeness)

One of the sights of Ghent is the Bell tower, that was built in the 1300’s. A gilded copper dragon was put on top in 1377, which have since been replaced, but you can see the original inside the tower, besides lots of its old decorative elements. If you go to the top of the tower, then this is the view you can see of Ghent and the St. Nicholas Church (Sint-Niklaaskerk). We wanted to see the Ghent Altarpiece (Het Lam Gods) in St Bavo’s Cathedral (Sint Baafskathedraal) but we couldn’t see it. Its best to buy the ticket before you go there. It is very beautiful inside, especially around Christmas.

Graslei and Korenlei

The St. Michael’s Bridge (Sint-Michielsbrug) leads to the promenade where the houses are very beautiful. For those who like unique architecture walking around these areas is the perfect program.



 Gravensteen is the strongest fortification surrounded by ditches in West-Europe. The fortress was developed between 1180 and 1200 on the command of I. Philip King. The counts used it for the administration of lands. The Sint-Veerleplein square is in front of the castle, where the market is, where executions where held and the victims of the Inquisition were burned. Those who like history it is memorable to visit it.

 Though We spent here the third Sunday of Advent, but we needed more time. The Castle is a half day program if you want to look at everything. The most important: You have to try the belgian beer and fries.

Links: https://vikcsypru.wixsite.com/links
TravelGram: https://www.instagram.com/travel_girl_vik/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ivikkencsdesignandart

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Location: Gent, Belgium

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