Ghent
Ghent — the Altarpiece Restoration, Gruut Medieval Beer, Gothic Masterworks, Belgium's Vegan Capital & Charles V
The Ghent Altarpiece restoration revealed 500 years of hidden colour; the Gruut brewery makes Belgium's only medieval herb-beer; Ghent pioneered the weekly vegetarian day; and the city where Charles V was born remains Belgium's most politically progressive.
Ghent — Patershol Quarter, the Vrijdagmarkt, SMAK Contemporary Art, the Gentse Feesten & Ghent Architecture
The Patershol medieval lanes are Ghent's most Michelin-starred neighbourhood; the Vrijdagmarkt is where Flemish political history was made; the SMAK is Belgium's most internationally recognised contemporary art museum; and the Gentse Feesten is the most attended free music festival in Belgium.
Ghent — Open Monuments Day, the Lys Valley Painters, Art Nouveau Heritage, Cuberdons, Family Visits & Seasonal Festivals
Ghent's Open Monuments Day opens the most private interiors in Belgium; the Lys Valley gave rise to Belgium's most important Expressionist art colony; the cuberdons are the most city-specific Belgian confectionery; and the Gentse Feesten, the Lichtfestival, and the Ghent Christmas Market make Ghent Belgium's most event-rich calendar city.
Ghent — Street Art, the Citadelpark & SMAK, Sint-Pietersabdij, Cycling Culture, dEUS Music & the Flemish Ardennes
The Graffiti Alley is Belgium's most officially sanctioned street art corridor; the SMAK is Flanders' most internationally respected contemporary art museum; the Citadelpark holds the finest Beaux-Arts museum; and the Flemish Ardennes to the south are where the Tour of Flanders climbs its most famous walls.
Ghent — the World's Most Important Painting, the Gravensteen Castle, the Graslei, Three Towers & Flemish Food
Ghent holds the most important painting in the world — the van Eyck Altarpiece; the most completely preserved urban castle in Belgium — the Gravensteen; the most beautiful medieval quayside in the Low Countries — the Graslei; and the most specifically Ghent dish in all Belgium — the waterzooi.
Ghent — Canal Network, the University Quarter, Beguinages, Textile Heritage, Day Trips to Bruges & Antwerp
Ghent's three-river canal system is the most complex in Belgium; the 4 UNESCO beguinages are the most beguinage-rich single city in the world; the 19th-century cotton mills made Ghent Belgium's industrial heart; and the direct trains to Bruges (30 min), Antwerp (35 min), and Brussels (35 min) make Ghent the perfect Belgian base.