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Historic sites

Gravensteen and the Ghent Altarpiece, Ghent

Belgium East Flanders Gent

Gravensteen and the Ghent Altarpiece, Ghent
Photo: Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ghent is a lively university city with a medieval centre to rival Bruges. The Gravensteen is a moated 12th-century castle of the Counts of Flanders, with a good audio guide and a torture exhibition; climb to the ramparts for views. In St Bavo's Cathedral, the Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers, completed in 1432, is one of the most important paintings in Europe.


Walk along the Graslei and Korenlei quays, best at night when the buildings are lit, and take a boat on the canals. Ghent is 30 minutes by train from Brussels.

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