A Half Day In Ghent

Right at the end of last year I had one of my annual trips to a Christmas market. Basing myself in Lille (France), I had my eye on a day trip to Belgium. Ghent was my chosen location and is only one hour and a quarter away by local trains. This is my account of the short visit I made to this beautiful Belgian city.

With historic, colourful buildings and a bustling Christmas market, Ghent is easy on the eye, even on a cloudy day.

St Nicholas’ Church, Ghent

Whistlestop Tour

The train ride involved one change at Kortrijk in Belgium. Having crossed the border between France and Belgium we were ready to switch trains but it turned out the same train merely changed its number and became the second train. So we basically just had to wait for fifteen minutes and carry on towards Ghent. I found this amusing as I had got off the train looking for a different one but hadn’t needed to.

Getting from Ghent station to the centre (Korenmarkt) took about eighteen minutes. It was extremely crowded as Ghent is a proper tourist trap. Arriving near a fantastic church and famous bridge (St Michael’s bridge), the view was well worth the wait and discomfort of the crouded tram.

After taking in the architecture, we walked over to a place where everyone was hopping on boats. Straight away we got onto a forty minute boat tour which took us along the canals and past the intimidating Castle of the Counts (Gravensteen).

Gravensteen Castle
View from the boat

Although it was a fairly short tour, we went down three arms of the canal and had a chance to see all of the important sites.

A woman with crab claws

Afterwards, we made our way to the nearby Christmas market which was impressive and had many of the same features as the one in Lille, such as the Ferris Wheel.

Ghent Christmas market
Ghent Christmas market

My favourite thing was sampling a hot dog and some famous Belgian fries.

In A Nutshell

Deciding to walk along the canal back to the train station rather than taking the tram, I realised that Ghent is packed with history, shops and intrigue. I know that I will visit again and spend more time enjoying this fantastic place. Although I was on a rush to get back to Lille (because Eurostar trains were on hold and I thought I would need to go to Calais), my brief hours in beautiful Ghent were satisfying and the city looked just as picturesque as instagram suggested.

Check out my Bonjour Lille article for more about my Christmas travels. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. Please follow me for similar future content.

My Five Favourite European Cities

Many of you will know that I absolutely love city breaks. I always make sure I choose destinations that I can get to by rail or sea. In the past I have flown to so many places but now I make an effort not to fly as planes have been shown to directly pollute the upper atmosphere. So the Eurostar has become my preferred way of getting into Europe.

Memories

In the last ten years I have enjoyed some wonderful holidays. My idea of a good holiday involves great food, a little bit of culture and plenty of sightseeing (often involving a castle).

In this article I want to share the best European cities that I have visited so far. I am lucky enough to have been to Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, France and Denmark. Out of those countries, here are my favourite cities to visit by train.

Grossmunster Cathedral, Zurich

5) Zurich

As soon as I arrived in Zurich, I was taken aback by the enormity of its grand train station, which was packed with shops and exhibitions.

Zurich was a brilliant place to visit and I was happy to watch a show at the Opera House, take a boat across the immense Lake Zurich and enjoy the bustling centre.

Easy Links

Much like Luxembourg City, it is easy to get a train from Zurich to surrounding places of beauty. I particularly loved a day out where I went up a nearly vertical rail track (Stoosbahn funicular) and had an incredible feast up a mountain.

Influenced by Switzerland, I am now always looking for places to eat cheese fondu since trying it in the city of Zurich. I first saw this tempting fondu restaurant on Travel Man which you can check out for yourself on Youtube.

My favourite fondu at Raclette Stube
The Eiffel Tower, Paris

4) Paris

I have been to glorious Paris several times over the past twenty years. It feels like a home from home. The added bonus is that Disneyland Europe is nearby but even without this, Paris has plenty to keep me coming back for more.

Known for its fashion and food, Paris thrives on its history and grand architecture such as the Arch de Triomphe and the Louvre. Walking up to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower and then taking a lift to the top was an amazing experience which I will always remember happily.


Only one thing stops Paris being my Number 1

As much as I love the museums, the exquisite cuisine and the general vibe, one thing lets me down. Everywhere you go there are smoking rooms. Usually they are attached to the outside of cafes and restaurants so you have to walk through them to get into eateries. Often I have to eat in one of these rooms if a venue is busy and I hate the smell of smoke.

The Christmas market, Antwerp, Belgium

3) Antwerp

My recent trip to Antwerp was so much fun. I had picked Antwerp as a getaway destination based on some Pinterest pictures that I had seen. It turned out to be a great choice.

Antwerp was the most festive city I have been to and felt so safe and welcoming. It was also really affordable compared to many of the other places I have stayed.

There will be a more detailed blogpost about Antwerp which I will link here in future.

Luxembourg City Wall

2) Luxembourg

Luxembourg was just a two hour train trip from Paris. The train had two floors and was really comfortable. Although it is a small nation, Luxembourg has a lot to offer. There is plenty of history there and public transport is now free.

When I visited there in 2019 there was still a small fee to use trains and I popped on one to go and see some beautiful villages and a couple of historic castles.

Plus Points

The city was not too busy but still had a buzz about it. Everything was relatively close together and, due to it being one of the main EU administration places, there were lots of places to be entertained, such as the Luxembourg Philharmonie, where we enjoyed a magical concert.

The Luxembourg Philharmonie
Horse Well, Salzburg

1 Salzburg

Since being a kid, I always longed to visit the set of The Sound of Music. So when I got the chance to stay there I took the guided tour of locations. I also fell in love with this beautiful city, surrounded by imposing mountains.

A wide river splits the old and new halves of Salzburg. As a bonus, when I went it happened to be the Salzburg Festival and lots of classical music events and theatre plays were being put on.

Full of beauty

I developed an unexpected fondness for sauerkraut while I was there and had a great time exploring the houses of Mozart. Salzburg was breath-taking, full of nods to Austrian tradition and home to plenty of tasty baked goods.

I previously reflected on my favourite trip in 5 Reasons To Visit Salzburg if you want to know more about this wonderful city.

Final Thoughts

I hope that you have found one of these cities interesting. It was hard to pick five of my favourites but all of these are destinations that I definitely want to visit again.

Please consider following my blog for future similar content about travel, books, TV and the environment.

Best European Destinations for Singles

This blog post is loaded with wonderful European places to visit, single or not. It made me intrigued by Madrid and Florence. Check it out and see what takes your fancy. All of these destinations are within train distance from London.

If you are single and planning a trip to Europe, but you don’t know where to start, here you can find the best European destinations for singles.

Best European Destinations for Singles