Gent Centrum Walk – Gravensteen Castle, Graslei and Korenlei Streets, River Leie

For our last full day in Belgium, we have a day trip planned for Ghent. We are staying near Brussels central train station, Gare de Bruxelles-Central; we bought tickets last night and took an early train to Ghent.  We got off at the Gent-Sint-Pieters station and started our Gent Centrum Walk.

To get to Gent centrum from the train station, it’s kind of  too far to walk.  So, following tips from the guide books, we took a tram.  We got off at the Korenmarkt stop right next to St Niklaaskerk / Saint Nicholas’ Church, which is at the southern end of the historic center.  From there, we walked around, saw the sights, had a great lunch, then took the tram to the art museum, then we ended our Gent Centrum Walk back at the train station for the ride back to Brussels.  It was a beautiful city to visit, full of fun family time.

There were lots of sights to see:  St Niklaaskerk / Saint Nicholas’ Church, Belfry of Ghent / Belfort Gent, Stadshal van Gent / Ghent City Hall, Oude Postkantoor / Old Post Office on Korenmarkt, Groentenmarkt / Fruit Market, Groot Vleeshuis / Great Butchers’ Hall, Veerleplein / St Veerle’s Square, Gravensteen  Castle, Design museum Gent, Dulle Griet / “Mad Meg” 15th century Super Cannon, Huis Van Alijn on Kraanlei / Museum of things that never pass, Sint-Michielskerk, Museum vooor Schone Kunsten / MSK Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.

Graslei and Korenlei. Throughout all of these enjoyable medieval surroundings, the 16th-century guild-houses along the River Leie made for a most memorable backdrop, especially the ones along Graslei and Korenlei streets.  The colorful gabled roof building are the sights you see in post cards.

Gravensteen. We were delighted with the Gravensteen Castle / Castle of the Counts.  The original castle was built in 1180, and over the years it has evolved from the seat of government, then abandoned, later used as a court house, a prison, and in the late 1800s the City of Ghent total restored it.  It is a delightful place to visit; it’s really a museum to the history of Ghent and a nice lookout place to see the rest of the historic city center.

Lunch on River Leie. At mid-day, we decided to take lunch on the River Leie at an outdoor brasserie on Graslei street.  It was the first week of January, 40F degrees, but the restaurant was semi-sheltered, with heaters and blankets, so we had a nice full lunch on the River.  The atmosphere was wonderful and the view was beautiful.

MSK Art Museum. Later in the afternoon, we took the tram back toward the train station and stopped at the Museum vooor Schone Kunsten (MSK) / Museum of Fine Arts.  This museum has Flemish masterpieces from the 15th to 20th centuries.  We saw paintings from Bosch, Peter Paul Rubens, van Dyck, Bosch, Jordaens, Brueghel II, van Rysselberghe and René Magritte.  The signature materpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb / De aanbidding van het Lam Gods by the van Eyck brother, was being restored; with great pride, the MSK was showcasing the efforts.  Very impressive.

From the museum, we hopped back on the tram, and caught the (rather crowed) return train to Brussels.  For the evening, we had a nice dinner at a fun restaurant on the Grand Place.  The Gent Centrum Walk was a long, fun day with the family; it’s only a faint memory that is was raining/drizzling all day.  (Not really that bad for January in Belgium!)

De Witte Leeuw Brasserie. Here, we had a really nice out-doors lunch on the River Leie on Graslei Street.  Really nice atmosphere and good food.

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