A day in Ghent with children

**Updated November 2023**

Overshadowed by the much more popular Bruges (we’ve taken the children on several occassions!) this beautiful, undiscovered gem is well worth a visit (with or without children!). It has all the charm of Bruges but with a quirky edge that makes it very appealing.

Parking in Ghent

We’ve now been to the city twice. On the first visit we parked centrally (and very easily) in Vrijdagmarkt Gent parking. On our second visit (when coming from a different direction) we parked underneath the Ghent Zuid shopping mall (also worth noting this is outside of the clean air emission zone). You can read more about parking in Ghent here.

Top 3 activities for children

So if, like us, you only have a day in this wonderful city then why not check out our top 3 family friendly activities.

1. Street Art
Ghent has a lively street art scene. A map from the tourist office shows prime viewing locations. We took this route (on our first trip).  We didn’t do the whole tour but enjoyed the bit we did do – some scooting potential (for the little people!) and plenty of play parks (and of course waffle shops!) on route. A better option might be to hire a bike – this way you could cover more ground with little people in tow. On a second trip to the city (in October 2023), we chose just to visit the ‘Graffiti alley’ – it’s the perfect spot for a quick look at Street Art.

2. Sight seeing

Ok so perhaps not the first thing you’d think to do with children but a little bit of carefully planned sight seeing can and does work for the whole family. I would start with the Cathedral of St. Bavo (Sint-Baafskathedraal) and the Belfry, picking up some must try Ghent noses on route (must try they say, fairly yucky I say!).

When we were there, the square was busy with Easter celebrations and an impromptu organ recital was a big hit with both of our little ones. The square was surrounded by a number of chocolate shops that the children (and grown ups!) enjoyed admiring (although who does spend 180 euros for the handmade egg?!?).

The UNESCO Belfry in Ghent stands at 91metres and is the tallest in Belgium. It has a cool range of songs so make sure to hang around long enough to hear some of those. If you’re feeling energetic you can climb to the top for some cool views – you’re encouraged to book in advance and you can do that here. They also have a child friendly guide available.

From here we walked down to the canals (Kornlei and Graslei areas) – arguably the most beautiful part of the city. A trip to this part of a Belgium wouldn’t be complete without admiring the canal side views! The little people loved the boat spotting (just make sure you can keep hold of them – swimming in the canals probably shouldn’t be on the agenda!). You could take an organised boat tour of the canals but we gave this a miss (tired little people needed to get into the car!).

From here you’re really close to the Patershol area of the city – this is a lovely little area dotted with boutique, speciality shops (including this amazing bakery – pick up some picnic supplies!) and lots of cafes and bars.

If you have time to spare then visit the Castle of Counts – there is a child friendly guide!

3. Waffles

If you only have one day in Ghent then you absolutely must try a waffle or two! (it’s one of the main reasons we keep coming back to Belgium!). There’s no shortage of places to try. First up though it’s important to know that there are two types of Belgian waffle – the ones that hail from Brussels (the rectangular ones with perfectly shaped holes and an airy batter) or the Liege waffle (an oval shaped waffle made with brioche dough – my personal favourite!).

We popped into Fritz – a very traditional cafe with a whole range of food and drink options. The waffles were delicious – just the right amount of crisp but fluffy on the inside. We were also tempted with a Belgian coffee!

Another option would be Max Waffles Ghent (reported to have been making waffles for 6 generations).

Whilst not strictly a waffle shop, do try In Choc Gent – this chocolate coffee bar in Ghent is the perfect place to stop after a visit to Gravesteen. Conveniently located practically opposite the Castle of the Counts, you can indulge in sweet treats, coffee, hot chocolates, and their well-known crazy shakes.

For the record:

Indoor food market (sadly now closed!). 

I’ve spoken in other blog entries about the ease and joy of visiting an indoor food market with little people (it really does give you so much more flexibility!). Our favourite so far has been Rotterdam but the one in Cordoba is equally good (oh and Copenhagen!). Ghent boasts a wonderfully unique market, The holy food market is housed in a converted church. There was a delicious selection of food from more traditional Belgian croquettes (oh and how yummy they were!), to pizza and pasta and falafel and hummus. Something for everyone. High chairs were available and there was plenty of seating. All very relaxed. The meal was topped off by the most incredible magnum (imagine – ice cream dipped in chocolate and covered in your own choice of sprinkles – a toddlers paradise!). It’s worth noting that the toilets are located next door and given that they are public toilets they were not overly clean. Oh and the market converts into a trendy nightclub at night (wishful thinking with little people!).