Things to Do in Ghent: Itineraries, Costs and Food

A genuine medieval keep with narrow tower stairs, battlements, and a well-known collection of historic weapons and torture instruments. Unlike Bruges, this is a castle you walk through, not just photograph.

During ongoing restoration work (expected to run into spring 2027), the altarpiece's seven main panels in the cathedral are temporarily replaced with high-resolution photos; the upper register is viewable at MSK Ghent in the meantime. Check the current display arrangement before you go.

The old harbour quays face each other across the Leie, lined with guild houses from different centuries standing shoulder to shoulder. Best light is early morning or after sunset when the facades are lit.

A UNESCO-listed medieval bell tower topped with a gilded dragon weathervane, with a lift partway up before a shorter climb to the viewing gallery. Less of a physical slog than Bruges' belfry.

Housed in a former abbey on the Bijloke site south of the centre, tracing Ghent's history from its founding to today. A good rainy-afternoon option away from the canal crowds.

A decorative arts and design collection in a converted 18th-century mansion, closed for a full renovation with reopening scheduled for October 3, 2026. Confirm it has actually reopened before building a visit around it.

Two medieval quaysides facing each other across the Leie river, lined with guild houses, functioning as boat tour departure points by day and a dense bar and restaurant strip by night. Genuinely one of the best-preserved medieval waterfronts in Belgium and it's free to just sit and look at. Gets loud with student nightlife on weekends.

A restored medieval fortress in the city centre with a self-guided audio tour through its towers, dungeons and a small weapons collection. Solid for an hour, the views from the top walls over the city are the highlight more than the exhibits.

Ghent's cathedral, home to the Van Eyck brothers' famous 24-panel Mystic Lamb altarpiece; the upper register is on view at the MSK Ghent museum rather than the cathedral while restoration continues through spring 2027. Worth knowing before you go, if you specifically want the restored upper panels you need to visit MSK Ghent, not the cathedral, until the restoration finishes.

A dense pocket of narrow medieval streets just behind Gravensteen castle, largely residential with small independent restaurants and galleries tucked into old buildings. Quiet and genuinely local feeling, a good contrast to the Graslei crowds a few minutes' walk away.

New contemporary art and design space designed by architect Glenn Sestig, opened recently with rotating shows spanning sculpture, collectible design and architecture. Small and serious, no tour groups. A good half-hour stop near Patershol, not a destination worth planning a whole day around.

A creamy stew, traditionally chicken though fish versions exist, with vegetables in a light broth thickened with egg and cream. Ghent's answer to moules-frites and less known outside Belgium.

Small purple cone-shaped candies with a soft, jam-like center, sold from carts that have operated in the same spots for generations. Buy a small bag rather than a large one; they are dense and sweet.

Ghent declared a weekly vegetarian day in 2009 and the food scene never looked back; it has one of the highest concentrations of vegetarian restaurants of any European city its size.

A sharp, grainy local mustard, Tierenteyn-Verlent has made it the same way since 1790 from a shop that still sells it by the scoop rather than the jar.

Ghent's own Gruut brewery makes beer without hops, using herbs instead, a genuine local specialty worth trying alongside the standard Belgian abbey styles found everywhere else.

A dense cluster of small, family-run restaurants in a medieval quarter, better value and less staged than the equivalent tourist streets found across Bruges.

A small, homey Belgian restaurant built around a pork cheek stoofvlees stew from the chef's grandmother's recipe, served with frites. Reviews stayed strong through 2026, this one holds up. Go for the stew specifically, it's the reason to be there.

A sharing-plates and cocktail spot with tapas-style dishes like nachos and a Tel Aviv-style etagere, popular on TikTok for its platters. Don't bother. It photographs well but sits at 2.8 out of 5 on Tripadvisor and near the bottom of Ghent's restaurant rankings. Social media reach and actual food quality aren't the same thing here.

The renovated Wintercircus industrial building in Ghent has become a draw for newer restaurant concepts opening on its upper floors. Only one source named a specific tenant restaurant, so this flags the building and scene rather than an unverified single name.

Chef Timon Michiels' new restaurant just outside Ghent in Sint-Martens-Latem, opened August 2026 after he closed his previous spot Carcasse, built as a tribute to his grandmother's cooking. Multiple reviews call it his most personal project yet. If you're chasing serious food and don't mind a short trip out of the center, this is the one to book.

A sandwich-focused spot opened by Tina, who closed her 25-year restaurant Lepelblad and now serves her old signature dishes reworked as sandwiches. A cheaper, lower-key way to eat a well-regarded chef's cooking. Good for lunch, not a sit-down dinner replacement.

A neighborhood restaurant opened in August 2026 by Marcelo Ballardin and Dominik D'Hooge after closing their eight-year restaurant Door73, focused on meat dishes. Reviewers praised the meat but noted the owners' other nearby restaurant edges it out on some fronts. Solid, not a must-book.