No one would claim that Ghent is off the beaten track. Yet, even after years of being hyped as the little known but equally beautiful and historic alternative to Bruges, it still feels a long way from the horrors modern tourism inflicts on that town. If Bruges is the fairytale medieval town frozen in time, Ghent is its more grown up twin with alternative, cutting edge arts, cultural and nightlife scenes driven by a sizeable student population.
It feels like a proper city, even if its medieval centre now attracts a sizeable tourist trade. It’s also a progressive place. Pedestrianising the centre in 2017 was a monumental achievement, but came at a price. Filip Watteeuw, the deputy mayor responsible for the change, received death threats. The result though is little less than transformative. The city centre is an absolute delight to walk around.
Ghent made a big impression the last time I was here in 2015. A return trip was long overdue. I was keen to revisit the historic centre, but also areas of the city that I’d missed which have been transformed by a wave of redevelopment. The industrial area north of the Dampoort was my destination on a sunny Saturday morning. Here, the old port area has metamorphosed into DOK Noord, a well executed post-industrial regeneration.
Passing through the leafy Citadelpark, home to the SMAK contemporary art museum, the long walk into central Ghent is most pleasant along the River Leie. The river passes one of the most attractive areas of the old centre, the Graslei lined with medieval gabled houses backed by the spires of Sint-Niklaaskerk. I followed a branch of the river by Gravensteen, the 11th century home of the Counts of Flanders.
Losing myself in the cobbled streets of the Patershol was a pleasant diversion, the collection of medieval buildings a reminder of the trade guilds that used to fill this area. While the area closest to the river is filled with restaurants and bars, it’s amazing how few people venture into the maze of lanes inside this area. It’s an area of boutique shops and little visited gems like the Kunsthal housed in a former Carmelite monastery.
It wasn’t long before I meandered my way to the canal where a marina of houseboats and new apartments rub shoulders with the old dockside cranes that once loaded and unloaded ships. It still looks like a work in progress, and the area between the old town and the old docks has got a distinctly gritty feel to it. Gentrification has limits it seems, but there’s innovative stuff happening in this area.
It was lunchtime so I headed to DOK Noord and the Dok Brewing Company’s café, Hal 16. A glass (or two) of their excellent sour Flanders Red Ale at a shady outdoor table was perfect in the furnace like summer heat. Hal 16 is just part of a larger development in the former factory of ACEC, a manufacturer of electrical generation equipment that closed its Ghent operations in 2005. It’s definitely worth a visit.
The route back to the historic centre took me past the excellent Museum of Industry, to the Vrijdagmarkt and nearby 12th century Sint-Jacobskerk. If you’re a beer fan, nearby Gruut Brouwerij takes you back to pre-16th century brewing traditions. Before hops came to dominate brewing, there was gruut or gruit, a mixture of plants and herbs. This is the unique selling point of this innovative brewery.
Like so much else in Ghent, it is one of those brewing centres reimagining Belgian beer, ancient tradition meeting modernity head on. On my way back to the station, I wandered along the Reep behind Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, and then past the stunning modern library building, De Krook. It is symbolic of Ghent’s ability to gracefully blend the ancient and modern.
We passed through Ghent in 2017 while the pedestrianisation was going on. We didn’t have much time (basically a couple of hours) and it struck both of us as somewhere we needed to get back to when we had time. From what you write, it really would repay a proper visit.
For my money, one of the best small cities in this part of the world, and a very friendly place to boot.
During my visit to Ghent, I concentrated on the old town, which already has a lot to offer, but it’s interesting to see that it also has a more modern face.
A genuinely fascinating and friendly place. Well worth a return visit!