Ghent Weekend Escape
- Irene
- Sep 8
- 5 min read
Looking for the perfect weekend escape in Belgium? Ghent has it all—history, charm, and walkable beauty. This 2-day itinerary is your ultimate guide to discovering the city’s must-see landmarks, hidden gems, and local flavors.
Ghent weekend itinerary:
Day 1: Medieval Ghent & Historic Center
St Bavo’s Cathedral
Belfort (Belfry of Ghent)
St Nicholas’ Church
Stadhuis (City Hall)
Gravensteen Castle
Canal Cruise
Great Butcher’s Hall
St Bavo’s Abbey
Day 2: Art, Museums & Hidden Gems
Industriemuseum (MIAT) or Belfry climb
Patershol District
Vrijdagmarkt
Where to stay: Stay in the historic city centre so you can walk everywhere. If you’re looking for something budget-friendly, B&B HOTEL Gent Centrum is a great option with modern rooms in a great location. If you are looking for something more high end but also in a good location, “NH Collection Gent” and “Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof Ghent” are very good alternatives.
When to go: July and August are considered the best months to visit Ghent as you will get the best weather, atmosphere, and cultural vibrancy.
How to get here: the easiest way to reach Ghent is by train. It is super easy and fast to get here from Brussels Midi as it is only a 25 min journey and during the day the trains run every 15 minutes. This is a great weekend escape from London by train—you only need to take the Eurostar and change trains at Brussels Midi, avoiding all the airport stress.
Day 1: Medieval Ghent & Historic Center
Start the day by grabbing a pastry and a coffee at “Kultur Bakery” which is absolutely amazing while you walk towards St Bavo’s Cathedral (~ dedicate around 30 min). This is a Gothic masterpiece dating back to the 10th century, home to the world-famous Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by the Van Eyck brothers. Don’t miss the crypt and baroque pulpit.
From St Bavo’s Cathedral’s square you can admire the Belfort (Belfry of Ghent) (~5 min) which is Ghent’s medieval bell tower, built in the 14th century, symbolizes civic pride. If you want you can climb to the top for panoramic views of the city but I would recommend doing this on your 2nd day.
Keep walking towards the canal to check St Nicholas’ Church (~15 min). This is one of the oldest churches in Ghent, built in the 13th century in Scheldt Gothic style, you can admire its blue-grey stone and central tower.
Afterwards, walk to Stadhuis (City Hall) (~5 min), which features a blend of Gothic and Renaissance architecture reflecting centuries of civic history.
Five minutes’ walk from the city hall you can reach Gravensteen Castle (~1 hr) - A 12th-century fortress built by Count Philip of Alsace. You can explore its ramparts, torture chamber, and medieval weaponry. As with the Belfry if you are considering going inside, I would do that on your 2nd day. We decided not to visit as the feedback that we got from some family members was that it was quite bare inside and there wasn’t much to see. However, if you decide to go in, I would recommend that you buy the tickets online.
After the Castle, head to go on a Canal Cruise (~50 min) – I would recommend going with Rederij de Gentenaer company as their boats are slightly smaller so you can experience it on a quieter boat. I found this was a must do activity where they tell you about the city’s trade history and at the same time you can admire its waterfront architecture.
For lunch go to “Bar Terroir” to have some wine and cured meat/ cheese platters.
Opposite lunch you will find the Great Butcher’s Hall (~15min) - Dating back to the 15th century, this hall once served as a meat market. It now hosts local food vendors and exhibitions. Unfortunately we couldn’t go inside as it was under renovations when we were there.
We headed after to St Bavo’s Abbey (Sint-Baafsabdij) a 15 minute walk towards the outskirts of the city center. – these are the ruins of a 7th-century Benedictine abbey. I am not sure I would recommend this as to be honest it is quite destroyed and not that much to really see.
For dinner, we went to “De Graslei”, which even though it’s located in a quite touristic place, had really nice food. Two other options to consider are “Mémé Gusta” and “ Maison Elza”. After dinner you can go for a drink to Elmo, a very cool bar.
Belfry of Ghent 
Gravensteen Castle 
Views from the Canal Cruise 
Views from the Canal Cruise 
Ghent canals 
NT Gent 
Korenmarkt 
St Bavo’s Abbey 
St Bavo’s Abbey
Day 2: Art or Museums & walks
On your second day in the morning, there are few options of things to do: you can visit the Industriemuseum, climb the Belfry or go into the Gravensteen Castle.
We opted for climbing the Belfry and we enjoyed the experience very much. Climbing the Ghent Belfry is an experience rewarded with 360-degree views of the city. To get to the top level there is actually a lift so you only have to go up 60 stairs. However, there is a one way system operating and you’ll have to descend 366 stairs, but no worries—every 100 stairs or so, there are different floors with exhibitions where you can spend a few minutes. It will take you around 45 min to do the whole thing. Ticket prices vary, but general admission is around 11 euros.
After the Belfry, we went for a wander to Patershol District, this is an area of cobbled lanes in the medieval quarter. Once home to noble families, now filled with cozy restaurants and boutiques. You can spend around 1 hour here walking around the cute streets and checking out the shops.
From here we crossed to Vrijdagmarkt, a lively square with markets on Fridays and weekends. Surrounded by historic guild houses and the statue of Jacob van Artevelde.
After this you can go for lunch to “De Gekroonde Hoofden”.
After lunch, as we had time, we went for a leisurely walk (~15min) to “ICE ICE AMY Specialty Ice Creams Ghent” which was absolutely incredible. Not only the ice cream was amazing but they were making the cones on the spot! I have never seen anything like this and it was delicious!
We decided to chill for the rest of the afternoon but other things you can do are beer tasting tours, chocolate tasting or waffle making activities.
For dinner we went to “'t Klokhuys” and If you like mussels, I recommend ordering them here. They were better than at De Graslei, in our opinion. For a drink after dinner we went to “De Alchemist” which was super cute.
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