Travel

Rick Steves’ Europe: A Walk Through Ghent

Since it’s so close to Brussels and Bruges—about 30 minutes away from both—Ghent is a popular day-trip destination.
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Rick Steves’ Europe: A Walk Through Ghent
Ghent’s St. Bavo’s Cathedral houses the pearl of Flemish painting—the gigantic Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, which is perhaps the most stolen painting in existence. Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe
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Once one of Belgium’s medieval powerhouses, Ghent today is home to one of Belgium’s biggest universities and a vibrant student population. While it has plenty of pretty canals and gables, it also enjoys a certain amount of urban grittiness, with a welcome splash of creative hipster funkiness.

Ghent is very walkable, and I enjoy strolling through the old town in this extremely Flemish city, where the native language is Dutch—but everyone also speaks English.

Rick Steves
Rick Steves
Author
Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, For the Love of Europe. You can email Rick at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook. ©2022 Rick Steves. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.