Belgium

Ghent

Ghent was our first stop in our major European part of the travels. We got the Megabus from London via the EuroTunnel for 18 pounds each or so – cheap as chips! Ghent is great! Very hip, arty, trendy, etc with lots of cafes, restaurant bars around the many canals in the old town. We had a traditional Flemish dinner at the Klokhaus which was delicious followed by a Belgian bier!

Ghent

Window shopping

Ghent

The Gravensteen Castle from the 12th century, Ghent

Street art in graffiti street, Ghent

Ghent

Bruges

After being in Bruges, we need to see the Colin Farrell movie ‘In Bruges’! We went on a free walking tour through the old town, guided by a crazy young Flemish guy with a passion for Belgian Bier, and he pointed out tons of sites used in the filming of the movie. The history of Bruges was really interesting, the squares and cathedrals are big – as were the crowds of tourists. We tried Belgian waffles with Belgium chocolate sauce (apparently the Belgian’s only eat them as kids), ate more Flemish food (including a pot of mussels) and tried Belgian Bier; one was 9% – the bar only allows you to have a maximum of 4  – after having just one, we could see why..!

Canal in Bruges

Belgian Mussels and fries at a restaurant called Passage

Attractive couple with Belgian Waffle

Markt Square, Bruges

Belgian Bier… when in Rome…

If you have come across our blog whilst planning a trip to Belgium and are deciding between Ghent or Bruges, we would definitely recommend Ghent. Both are amazing of course and while Bruges might be older, Ghent is more laid back, far less touristy. Ghent gets our vote!

 

See Next: France