Ghent: Itineraries

A Top Day in Ghent

Short-term, first-time visitors arriving at Ghent's Sint-Pieters train station should swiftly grab northbound tram No 1. Hop off at Korenmarkt for the most magical conjunction of glimmering canals, step-gabled Flemish houses and medieval towers. A stop further, the moat, flags and crenellated battlements of picture-perfect Gravensteen make it very hard to believe that last century this castle was used as a factory.

However, as a regular visitor, I prefer to start by nursing a coffee at the quirky station tavern. Its jarring mix of pseudo-medieval decor and modern lamp-trees sums up Ghent's idiosyncrasies in a nutshell. I'll then stroll across Citadelpark to the brilliant SMAK contemporary art gallery.

Heading on towards the grand Sint-Pieters Abbey I'll admire the Art Nouveau architectural gems along Kunstlaan and the fairytale turrets of Leopoldskazerne. Nearby Overpoortstraat ('Gomorrah!') is the city's student drinking street. But save that for an evening with local friends.

I'll stop into Use-It (www.use-it.be) to pick up the latest jokey info-map guides from these Ghent-loving geniuses whose tips are way better than anything you'll find in guidebooks or traditional tourist info-offices. This area is great for cheap, non-touristy lunches.

Next door, the splendid Vooruit concert-hall, complete with gilded balconies and 1920s floral-tiled toilets, is worth returning to at night. Its cafe is THE place to sit and look smokily intellectual. But then Ghent has such an extraordinary wealth of eccentric cafes that you'll need months just to drink through the better options.

Afternoons are great for a visit to the superb MIAT industrial archaeology museum, a stroll in one of the peaceful begijnhofs or seeking out some of Ghent's quirky shop fronts. I love Dampoortstraat, the truss shop on Molenaarsstraat, the barber-cafe on Tempelhof and the magnificent N'Importe Quoi emporium of antique-kitsch (Burgstraat).

I try to get back to Grasbrug by sunset. From here Ghent's spectacular medieval canal-houses and spires are at their photogenic best once the floodlights start to come on and the sky blushes purple-gold. Hurrah: it's time to start on some more of those superb cafes. Must remember to go to bed eventually!

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