Discover Ghent, Belgium

Discover Ghent, Belgium – picturesque town 35 minutes from Brussels. A great day trip! The canals,  castles, graffiti street and don’t miss the view from the Belfry!

Discover Ghent, Belgium - picturesque town 35 minutes from Brussels. A great day trip! The canals,  castles, graffiti street and don't miss the view from the Belfry!

After a few days in Bruges, we took the train to Ghent. We used our ACPrail tickets, and the train ride only took about 25 minutes. I absolutely LOVED Ghent. It is more of a real city than Bruges. Bruges is an historic tourist town. Ghent is a vibrant college town! There is still all of the Dutch charm of Bruges, but it has more restaurants and shopping than Bruges.

We stayed at the Marriott right in the heart of the historic district on the canal. The location couldn’t have been any better. Just walk outside and you are in the thick of everything! Easy access to all the tourist attractions and waffles!! Oh, the waffles!!!

This was my favorite building in Ghent.
It is a thai restaurant. I just LOVE the colors!

After we dropped our bags off at the Marriott, we headed straight to lunch at Nonna Stella. 
We got there right when they opened.
We started with the prosciutto and burrata. 
It was delicious!

We split a pizza, and it was CRAZY delicious!
The owner didn’t speak English, but we got by with our limited Italian and pointing skills!
Also, the Google Translate App is your friend!!

There are three towers in Ghent.
Saint Nicholas’ Church was constructed in the 13th century.

The Belfry of Ghent is the tallest belfry in Belgium.
Construction began on the tower in 1313.
It stands 91-meters tall.
St Bavo’s Cathedral stands 89-meters tall.

Korenmarkt is the city square and it is beautiful!
The canals in the heart of the historic district.

This is Gravensteen Castle.
The castle was built in 1180 and restored in 1885.
It is now a torture museum. You can tour the castle and see all the various torture devices, including a guillotine, that were used to punish people back in the day.

Nearby the castle is the De Gekroonde Hoofden’ – The Crowned Heads.
There are sculptures of 14 counts of Flanders.

They are said to be watching over the crossing for eternity.
The building is now a restaurant.

Friday Market Square
LOVED this building in the square!

The best waffles in town are at Jack’s House on the canal.
We ate one every day we were in Ghent! SO good!!!
Cuberdon is a Belgium speciality.

We sampled one of each flavor.

They are basically like giant jellybeans.

Isn’t Town Hall beautiful?

We had to try some Belgium fries in Ghent.
I LOVED the logo from Ketchup. Looks like Heinz.
The fries were really good. The best we ate in Belgium!
It is right around he corner from the main canal.

Here is a plain waffle from Jack’s House.
This was dessert after our fries. YUM!

Werregaren Straat is known as the Graffiti Street.
I loved the cat about the street sign.

Such a fun walk!
I love that it changes all the time too!

Jack’s House not only has the best waffles, they have THE BEST homemade ice cream too!!!

You can go to the top of the Belfry.
Unlike the Belfry in Bruges, this Belfry has an ELEVATOR!
YES!!!!!

The views were unbelievable!

The Belfry tower is a MUST!

Don’t miss the canal tours. There are several places to hop on one. 
They are all basically the same, so just pick one and enjoy the ride!

Our last night in Ghent, we walked over to De Frietketel to indulge in a Belgium speciality – fries and a Bicky Burger.
De Frietketel is said to have the best fries in Ghent. 
They were really, really good.
We got Joppiesaus and American sauce.
Joppiesaus is a curry mustard and onion sauce. It was good.
The American Sauce tasted like a cross between ketchup and bbq sauce with more seasonings.

We started with a Mitraillett Bicky Burger.

A mitraillett is a sandwich covered in sauces and fries.
I promise there is a burger patty in there somewhere!

Next we decided to try a traditional Bicky Burger.
What makes a burger a Bicky Burger are the three sauces that they put on the burger.
The yellow Bicky Dressing, the Red Bicky Ketchup and the brown Bicky Hot Sauce.
The burger is topped with crispy onions and pickles or cucumbers and served on a sesame sprinkled bun.
I’m glad we tried the Bicky Burger, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite burger!
I have to admit that I ate a lot more of the fries than the burger.

As I said earlier, we stayed at The Marriott.
The location was absolutely PERFECT! 
Just walk out the door into the heart of the historic district.
Right next to the canal tours, ice cream and WAFFLES!

The room was great!
Just like the rooms in America.

If you are going to Ghent, I can’t recommend a better place to stay!
Next week I am going to tell you all about THE BEST place we ate in ALL of Belgium, The Holy Food Market here in Ghent. You don’t want to miss it!
Don’t miss my previous Belgium trip posts:

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