A day in Ghent: Castle of the Counts & medieval churches – Road trip in Belgium 3/5

On the way to Antwerp, we decide to spend half a day in Ghent. We don’t sleep there because I couldn’t find cheap hotels for the three of us (my girlfriend M., her 5 year old son and I travel together). This half-day really made us want to go back another time, under the sun if possible 🙂

Note: this post is part of a series of blog posts about our road trip in Belgium. I invite you to read the previous articles: 1st part, 2nd part here

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Train Bruges – Ghent

Trains leave regularly from Bruges train station to Ghent. There are several stations in Ghent, quite far from each other, I advise you to get off at Ghent-Dampoort, which is closer to the city. Not having booked a hotel in Ghent, we have to put our luggage at the luggage lockers. Surprise: the payment is only made in coins (on the Internet, we read “payment by card accepted”). We manage to exchange change at the station counter. For 5,5€, we have the right to a huge box to leave our two small suitcases during 24h. Keep the ticket well because it allows us to open the locker later.

Well, fortunately we left our suitcases because it is raining ropes, it wouldn’t have been funny to drag our suitcases under this weather. We could have walked from the station to the city center, but let’s prefer to walk as little as possible under the rain. So we take a bus from the station (3€ the way, payment to the driver) to the city center. M. is a bit annoyed because in this part of the country, they only speak to us in Flemish. In his region, M. has also learned Flemish but in a much more sloppy way than the northern Belgians. They are truly bilingual, but they expect the same from everyone. So even though they understand French very well, they only answer us in Flemish.

Saint Bavo Cathedral

Because of the weather, we didn’t go there but it is the symbol of the city. Tourists run there to admire The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, masterpiece of the Van Eyck brothers.

St. Nicholas Church

We will settle for a church closer to the city center: St. Nicholas’ Church in Ghent. This is a Roman Catholic church with statues from the 18th century, baroque paintings and confessionals from various periods. The interior is rather simple compared to other churches we will see during our trip, but you feel particularly good here, there is a beautiful energy on this place.

Mercado post plaza

It starts to rain too much and we decide to settle down at Le Pain Quotidien, nestled in this beautiful building, transformed into galleries, trendy stores and restaurants. Le Pain Quotidien has a super comfortable space, with sofas, armchairs, benches… it would have been quite possible to come and work here. Luckily, the waitresses speak French (and English), they have super interesting brunch offers. For my part, I opted for a maximum of vegetables and greens, it feels good! Count about 20€/person.

Delighted by this beautiful discovery, we follow the canal to get to the castle. The little boy M., 5 years old, is very excited to visit a castle. Since he visited the citadel of Nemur, he is interested in anything that looks like a fortress or a castle.

Castle of the Counts

If it was not raining, we could have taken the boat tour around the fortress (8€/person). But the boat is so closed and protected that we risk not seeing anything.

The access to the castle isn’t free (12€/person, free for children under 13 years old) but it is worth it. The audio guide is free and the numbers are clearly indicated and serve as a route guide. It is the only medieval fortified castle in Flanders whose defense system is still more or less intact.

This dungeon surrounded by a rubble rampart with 24 towers was built to protect itself from Viking attacks. One can walk on the ramparts (but being very careful because there is little protection).

If the furniture is missing, the castle has a small collection of instruments of torture. At the end of the 18th century, the castle was sold to private individuals and became a cotton factory, before being abandoned. Thanks to the World Fair of 1913 in Ghent, the castle regained its splendor and became world-famous – with its collection of torture instruments.

We walk along the canal again while observing the beautiful facades of the buildings transformed into restaurants or hotels. Boats have been moored here since the 11th century

Saint-Michel Bridge

The crossing of the Pont Saint-Michel will take you a long time – not because it is long, but because opportunities to take beautiful pictures arise every 5 seconds. From the bridge, the panorama, the landscape it offers is unique: between the church of Saint-Nicolas, the belfry, in the distance the castle of the Counts, the pretty facades… you don’t know where to start.

Because of the rain and fatigue, we hurry to take the train to Antwerp and land in our airbnb in Antwerp.
We take the bus for 3€ to the station and pick up our luggage. If you don’t know which bus to take, just have a look at Google Maps, the bus routes and schedules are correct.

Budget

• Train Bruges – Ghent: 6,7€
• Boat : 8€/person
• Access to the castle: 12€/person, free for children under 13 years old
• Luggage lockers: 5,5€ for 24h (payment in pieces only)
• Bus: 3€/journey/person, free for children
• Lunch : 20€/person