Must-See: Ghent, Belgium
Taiwanese Tripper Crystal Wu shares photos and memories from her days as an exchange student in Ghent, Belgium.
Ghent is the fourth largest city of Belgium with about 250.000 residents. Ghent was where I stayed during my exchange student period. Even though Ghent is less famous among tourists than Brussels or Bruges, I fell deeply in love with this small city and the people there.
It's my honor to share some pictures that I took in this adorable city. If you have a chance to go there, you will understand why I love this city so much!
The views are of downtown Ghent. The bottom right picture shows Ghent's medieval castle (“Gravesteen"). Ghent is not a tourists' city, however, I love this city from bottom of my heart and I believe you will, too!
This is St. Bavo's Cathedral, one of the most famous attractions in Ghent. Always looks amazingly pretty no matter in the morning or evening.
If you go to Belgium, NEVER, NEVER miss the famous Belgium waffles, the BEST in the world. I had to have waffles every time I went downtown. The waffles from this shop are awesome! It's my favorite place for fresh waffles and they also offer many choices of coffee. If you haven't tried Belgian waffles, you can never say you have been to Belgium.
This is my personal favorite local cafe in downtown of Ghent, the best place to hang out with friends and to relax during your travel. They have the best cake/dessert, the cutest tableware and decorations! I always feel so happy there.
Street art in downtown. Very impressive!
What you MUST eat other than waffles when you are in Belgium? As a food fanatic, I will recommend to try the following:
- Belgian fries with various special flavors that you can't get in other countries. My favorite flavors are mayonnaise (totally different from American one) and meat sauce (chunky beef with creamy sauce).
- Chocolate milk (in Belgium, they will put the whole piece of chocolate on a stick and stir it into warm milk). The best chocolate milk ever!
- Cherry flavor beer (Belgium beer is renowned in the world. More than 100 flavors of beer to choose from, but cherry flavor is extremely popular).
- Chocolate, of course! (you can find many chocolate stores when you walk around the city).
In Ghent, you will find many restaurants/cafés with their own unique styles. Above pictures show my favorite places introduced by locals.
Ghent at night. You will not be disappointed in Ghent, no matter when you visit Ghent!