The Quaint City of Ghent

Have you heard of Ghent? It’s a quaint little town located between Brussels and Bruges. During my last semester of college I did a capstone project on the marvelous  Ghent Altarpiece. It was a beast of a project and since we were coming to Brussels on holiday, I thought it would be cool to see the altarpiece in person and explore the city while we’re at it.

We went to the Museum of Fine Art to see where part of the altarpiece was being restored. It was so intriguing watching artists work meticulously to restoring the panels of the altarpiece. I would love to share photos of the altarpiece, but no photos were allowed. You are free, however, to take photos (no flash) of other art pieces. This room in particular had absolutely massive paintings!

I actually studied this painting above. When I saw it in person I was so stoked that I knew something about it! All of my hours of studying weren’t for nothing.

I must tell you, we had the whole museum to ourselves – it was great. We didn’t feel rushed or tight on space…that’s the proper way to browse a museum, I’d say. There are so many beautiful things created, stories told, and art to appreciate. After the museum, we decided to walk to St. Bavo’s Cathedral to see the rest of the altarpiece displayed.

Ghent is a quiet city with plenty of parks and green spaces. It was a great reprieve from the tourist crowds in Brussels.

Anthropologie Top, Paige Denim, Birkenstock Sandals, Rebecca Minkoff Purse, Gorjana Hoops

On our way to main city center in Ghent we walked past Our Lady Saint Peter church, which is pictured above. There are a handful of beautiful looking churches like this one throughout Belgium. I enjoy looking at the architecture because each church is unique in its own way and requires incredible talent.

As we got closer to the city center we came across cute little shops. I’ve never heard of any of them, but it was neat to see local Ghent mom and pop, jewelry, and clothing shops. Isn’t this street so charming? I would love to have a little holiday home in Ghent. I would just need to take up Dutch…no biggie…

For dinner we went to ‘T Oud Clooster, a little brasserie tucked away down a side street. A local spot tucked away down a side street.

We grabbed ourselves some Trappist beer and sat outside. By the way, we got to the place a little after it opened and there were only 3 tables taken – some of the other places we walked past were packed. Within minutes, literally, the rest of the tables were filled and the restaurant was buzzing. It was relatively early for dinner, too. It’s like people came out of the cracks of the earth and appeared there!

The food was absolutely delicious, or to blend in with the rest of the Dutch-speaking Bruges, you could say it was lekker!

For dessert, we had cream and ice cream. It was a perfect treat to end the day, not overly sweet, but just enough to complement all the saltiness from the pom frites. I would go back to Ghent just to have this meal again!

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