Ghent changes at the end of the working day. Bicycles multiply, the river turns copper, and the center feels lived in rather than displayed.
Begin without a destination
Start at the old harbor and follow the water south. The handsome facades are hard to miss, but the side streets are better: print studios, tiny galleries and bars squeezed into buildings that lean toward one another.
For dinner, move one street away from the busiest squares. A handwritten menu and a room full of regulars are usually enough direction.
A good city evening is measured in turns taken, not sights completed.
Our loose route
- Browse a bookshop before it closes.
- Cross the river whenever the light looks better on the other side.
- Save the illuminated waterfront for the walk home.