Crossing a bridge over a canal in Ghent with a view of St Michaels church, beautiful architecture, tourists taking selfies with a dramatic church gothic background.

Highlights: Beers. Shoes. Cobbled, narrow streets. Jenever. Sushi.

If you’re heading to Belgium, make sure Ghent is on your itinerary. It’s definitely a city you can visit in a day, but I would have been more than happy spending a couple of days there. (And if you’re not heading to Belgium any time soon, you should go, and put Ghent on the bucket list). Ghent is a beautiful, quaint city. Winding, narrow, cobbled streets interweave locals and tourists throughout the city. With sweeping bridges and ornate cathedrals, it’s a lot of beauty to take in. Ultimately, it’s magical, and as a tourist, I felt lucky to spend an afternoon there. Here’s how to spend a great day in Ghent…

Getting to Ghent

We had the benefit of friends with a car so we took the 40 min drive from Antwerp to Ghent for the day. Don’t have access to a car? Taking the train is a great option at only one hour from Antwerp or 40 min from Brussels. The trains throughout Belgium are easy and efficient to access.

Walk in Ghent

Ghent is a great walking city. With plenty of pedestrian areas (don’t get me started on how much I like pedestrian areas), one of the best things to do is to just wander and walk around. We had an eventual destination, but from the moment we arrived, we just walked toward whatever interested us. A great entry into the central part of the city, we crossed over the Sint-Michielsbrug bridge. The bridge takes you past Saint Michael’s Church (Sint-Michielskerk) and gives you great views of Saint Nicholas’ church (Sint-Niklaaskerk) in the background. After we crossed over, we arrived at the main square (Korenmarkt). Quickly from there we noticed this massive structure in the distance and wanted to know more. We learned that it’s called the Stadhshal, and it’s a newly added structure with great acoustics. Rumor has it, the building wasn’t too well received when it was first built, but being a great space for live music, I think it’s coming around. At this point, we were close to our destination so our casual walk ended, but there is plenty more to see.

A wider shot of St Michaels Church standing on St Michaels Bridge with the beautiful city scape background and tourists taking photographs, gray cloudy sky, tourists look chilly.

A closer picture of a street vendor in Ghent Belgium selling a traditional sweet in Ghent, the stall vendor wears a brimmed hat, a small blue scarf and circular glasses with a beard and his stall is named "CUBERDON" the stall is pulled by bicycle.

Stadhshal and clocktower in square in Ghent Belgium a more modern building next to an older building

Have a Pint (or a Liter) at Pub De Dulle Griet

Pub De Dulle Griet is a must-see, for the sheer fact that they require a shoe as collateral for a beer. That said, the shoe rule doesn’t apply to all beers. The shoe trade is only for when having one of the two types of beers that come in a very unique liter-size glass. The story behind it is that the glass became so desirable that patrons would steal it as a trophy. Because the tall and skinny glass is pricey, the pub had to find a way to ensure the glasses would stop disappearing. Enter shoe as a collateral rule. If you want to trade your shoe in for the experience, be prepared to consume a liter of beer. Once that decision is out of the way, place your order (light or dark beer), hand over your shoe, and watch the waiter place the shoe in a basket that’s lifted up to the ceiling. Ready for your shoe back? Make sure your beer is finished and you’re ready to hand in the glass. On top of all of this trade-your-shoe excitement, this pub also has over 500 different kinds of beer!! This was the moment I remembered, ‘Oh Belgium is known for their beer.’ After a stop at this place, it was easy to see why they’re known for their beer. I didn’t opt for the shoe experience, but instead had the most delicious dark beer that I can’t name because they really shouldn’t be selling it, so I’ll leave that for you to discover! :)

Outside of Dulle Griet in Ghent Belgium a green exterior with name in yellow neon and plants in the windows in the front

Inside of Dulle Griet pub in Ghent Belgium with knick knacks on the top shelf and plants in the window

Venture Down Ghent’s Graffiti Street

After a pint (or a liter), head to the Graffiti Street for some amazing, you guessed it, graffiti. It’s a three minute walk from the pub in the direction of the main square. When I first walked through, I didn’t realize how much I was going to like it. Graffiti on every surface through the alley — some in the traditional graffiti style, some like artwork. I’ve been told the graffiti changes over time so either they start anew or keep layering it on top. Either way, it’s worth a short or a long walk to just admire or to take photos. I seriously can’t explain how enthralled I was by it. Simply saying graffiti wall, it sounds cool, but not all consuming. Walking through the alley, with colors everywhere, it’s a truly unique experience.

Woman standing on walkway in the middle of Graffiti street in Ghent Belgium with bright colored graffiti along the wall and fence on either side

Have a Shot of Belgian Liqueur

Another 3 min walk towards the river brings us to 't Dreupelkot. Now, this guide isn't a bar crawl tour of Ghent, but it just happens to have two bar stops on it. We stopped at 't Dreupelkot to have a drink of the traditional Belgian jenever (or geneva). The most authentic jenever is super strong in both taste and alcohol content, but 't Dreupelkot also has a long list of lower alcohol content, sweeter versions. Our table all opted for sweeter versions: apple, blood orange, cactus, and they were all delicious. They traditionally come in a tulip shaped shot glass and are intended to be sipped, but that’s up to you. The pub itself is pretty simple inside with a main bar and a few barrels as tables. Around early evening on a Saturday, it wasn’t too busy. Walk up to the bar, order your flavors and sip away. There are also many lovely pubs along the river just outside that you can choose to sit at afterward.

Sushi for Dinner in Ghent

A small wooden boat filled with sushi on a red table. The small boat has tuna, salmon, prawns, mackerel, and multiple sushi rolls.

As a group of friends who love sushi, sushi for dinner was an easy decision. We made reservations for Sushi Palace at 7 pm on a Saturday to wrap up our day in Ghent, and it was fairly busy inside. At Sushi Palace in Ghent, sushi boats are their thing. Almost every table had a sushi boat, so we opted for one for our table. The sushi boat for 4 at 100 pieces gave us our fair share of everything we wanted: maki, sushi, sashimi, you name it. By the end of it, we had our sushi fill for the weekend.

Ghent was one of the two cities we visited in Belgium on this trip, and I would be hard-pressed to pick one over the other. They’re both beautiful cities with lots to offer, so if possible try to give them both a visit! Looking to compare the two, check out this blog post on eating and drinking in Antwerp.

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Travel Guide: One Day in Ghent