How to Spend Two Days in Ghent
A close-up of the handsome and iconic Ghent dragon, made in copper. Its latest version holds pride of place atop the historic bell tower in central Ghent, Belgium. February 4, 2020.
In the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, Ghent, Belgium, was one of the main centers of wealth, culture, politics, commerce, and all things intellectual. At the time, Ghent was one of the jewels of the region and one of the largest cities in Europe.
Ghent (written as Gent by the Belgians) has played a large role in my imagination since my time studying the period and the continent in college and graduate school. And these studies provided the foundation of my friendship with my friend Jon, with whom a sales call turned into a discussion of art and then a friendship when we realized our mutual appreciation for the painter Jan van Eyck. (You see, folks, you never know where a simple cold call will take you in life.)
For all these reasons, when I got an e-mail from Jon that an art museum in Ghent would host the largest-ever collection of van Eyck’s work, I knew we needed to meet him there.
Ghent did not disappoint (and neither did the exhibit). The town is smaller than its reputation—for me, anyway; I’ve since found that many people, even European people, have never heard of Ghent—but Belgium has preserved it beautifully. The tiny city is packed with tidily magical streets among which wind two sizeable rivers, gorgeous architecture, and more culture than a small town could seem to hold.
And in fact, I loved Ghent enough on first visit to make it a point to return during a follow-up visit to Belgium, when we had a base of stay in Brussels (a short distance by train). After a first visit in winter, a second visit in summer gave me two solid perspectives on this gorgeous medieval city.
I loved it enough on visit number two that I already have planned a third visit as soon as I can get there!
Design Museum Gent
Jon arrived a full day before Arnaud and I did on our first trip to Ghent; he went to the Design Museum Gent solo.
When I asked him for a summary of his experience to share in this article, he provided the following: “The Design Museum was so thoroughly jam-packed with great-looking stuff that I had to hit all the floors three times to take it all in, and everything was so well designed that I thought even the little contraption they’d put up to catch the ceiling leak was also kind of gorgeous. Possibly the nicest design museum I’ve been to.”
Side note: Given the consistent rain and wind the entire time we stayed in Ghent, don’t let Jon’s mention of a ceiling leak put you off the museum.
And there you have it, design lovers. Jon recommends you visit the Design Museum Gent.
The Museum of Fine Arts Ghent and the Jan Van Eyck Exhibit
First on the agenda for our first morning of our first Ghent visit: See the largest-ever exhibition of paintings by Jan van Eyck at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent.
The exhibition had opened only a few days before our trip. I figured that, if I wrote this article quickly enough after our visit, I could easily recommend that people planning to travel through Europe in early 2020 take the opportunity to see it. (Provided, that is, I liked the exhibit.)
However, the museum had to temporarily close due to the COVID-19 crisis. Though it had hoped to open again before the exhibition’s planned closure, COVID surprised us all with its tenacity and the exhibit dismantled before the COVID restrictions ended.
If the van Eyck exhibition somehow comes back together or even travels to another museum in the future, I cannot recommend more highly that you go. To view just one Jan van Eyck painting will amaze you if you look at it closely enough. To see so many of his paintings in once place—and with proximity impossible for many of his works, given their usual placements in museums and churches—feels like gluttony. And when you can see his paintings in context with an overall historical perspective of his life and time and juxtaposed with the work of his contemporaries, you’ll better understand why he astounded everyone in his time and even still today.
Alas, the size of the exhibit meant that the museum’s permanent collection had moved to storage or to rooms that we didn’t bother to see, especially after feasting our eyes for hours on Jan van Eyck paintings and other works from his time period. We didn’t make it back to this museum on our second visit to Ghent, but we’ll definitely make it a priority for visit three.
A Map-Guided Walk of Ghent
Because I love walking tours, I recommended we visit the Ghent tourist office and pick up a map with which we could do our own tour on our last day in town.
A photo of majestic Gravenstein taken the night before our walking tour. Ghent, Belgium. February 3, 2020.
We started just outside Gravenstein, which sits across the river from the tourist office. More than one online guide to Ghent said that the exterior of the castle outshines the lackluster (read “nearly empty”) interior, so we passed on paying for entry.
The Ghent Belfry, called the “Belfort” on maps and guidebooks, has impressive stature on the city scape. I’d recommend you pay the few euro to climb to the top. When you do, you’ll get an incredible panoramic view of Ghent and you’ll get to read about the history of the town’s dragon mascot, which rides atop the bell tower. You can even see a previous incarnation of the mascot inside the tower, preserved from the elements.
We’d planned a visit to St. Bavo Cathedral as the highlight of our walking tour, which guided us past it. The inside, which seemed to me otherwise unremarkable in comparison with other Gothic churches, houses the magnificent Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck (the man of the hour or, rather, our first trip). Also known as The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (how is that for a title?), scholars consider this altarpiece van Eyck’s masterpiece and one of the most important works of the early northern Renaissance.
Nothing I write here can truly do the Ghent Altarpiece justice and, to be frank, even the way the cathedral has displayed the work doesn’t present it to full advantage. Nevertheless, you must see it, and I recommend you study the paintings and get at least the printed guide for explanations when you do. You’ll find the time well spent. (Even Arnaud, who’d never really appreciated the art of the period before this trip, said van Eyck had duly impressed him. He might even have used the word “genius.”)
I made it a point on the walking tour to find chocolates in Belgium, as I wanted to eat something somewhat local to enjoy while in town (I’d struck out on finding a restaurant with moules frites or true Belgian waffles). I hit the jackpot when our talking tour passed a store called Salon Magelein. Walk inside and find chocolate-covered marzipan in varieties of flavors, flavored and candied nuts, chocolate-covered meringues, and more. I bought more than I thought I should have bought—and I still didn’t buy enough.
The delightfully delicious Magelein, where I bought too much chocolate and not enough chocolate, all at the same time. Ghent, Belgium. February 4, 2020.
The walking tour overall took us only about a half day, which includes the time we lingered in the bell tower and over the Ghent Altarpiece.
We discovered surprise historical exhibits (including one on badges open to the public for free) and plenty of places to stop for snacks. The walking-tour map took us through all the major neighborhoods—including the gorgeous Patershol quarter—and pointed out many of the architectural and historical landmarks.
A Private Guided Walking Tour of Ghent
As I’ll take a guided tour (by a human) over a self-guided or audio tour at every opportunity—even when the map-guided tour is as fantastic as the one in Ghent is!—I did a bit of research on-line ahead of our second trip to Ghent to find a guided tour in English for our little group.
We lucked out with a private tour of the old town from Ghent City Guide. If you have the time and the opportunity to get one of their tours, take it. Our tour took a solid two hours—and could have gone so much longer, as Ghent has so much to see.
Ghent’s iconic mermaid in the form of a weathervane on a building in the old town. Ghent, Belgium. August 12, 2022.
A view of the old town in Ghent from the perspective of a fountain designed for horses (upper basin) and dogs (lower basin—not visible). Ghent, Belgium. August 12, 2022.
Go to Ghent (in the Springtime or Early Fall)
If you enjoy a city in the miserably cold blustery rain, as I did Ghent, you’ll unquestionably love it in the springtime. In short: If you get a chance to visit Ghent, take it.
Heck, even if you can go in a very warm August, go!
After my first trip to Belgium, I’d given myself the following to-dos for visit number two: See the Design Museum Gent, on Jon’s recommendation; eat more of the Belgian culinary specialties; and take a more in-depth walking tour with a guide. Also, I’ll see the Ghent Altarpiece again—and I’ll unquestionably return to Salon Magelein (and probably more than once).
How’d I do on trip number two?
Alas, as we only had a few hours in Ghent on our second visit, I only managed the walking tour with an in-person guide and, you betcha, I saw the Ghent Altarpiece again.
Which means I still have so many reasons to go back to Ghent for visit number three!
P.S.—Planning a trip to Belgium and plan to voyage around the country a bit? Read my guide on planning a trip to Belgium for ideas!