Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #4 in Ghent, Belgium

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Churches & Art
Nature
Water & Wind
Historical
Heritage & Space
Tourism
Paid Tours & Activities

Tour Facts

Number of sights 29 sights
Distance 12.2 km
Ascend 162 m
Descend 162 m

Experience Ghent in Belgium in a whole new way with our self-guided sightseeing tour. This site not only offers you practical information and insider tips, but also a rich variety of activities and sights you shouldn't miss. Whether you love art and culture, want to explore historical sites or simply want to experience the vibrant atmosphere of a lively city - you'll find everything you need for your personal adventure here.

Activities in GhentIndividual Sights in Ghent

Sight 1: Begraafplaats Sint-Amandsberg Campo-Santo

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The Campo Santo of Ghent, Belgium, is a famous Roman Catholic public burial ground in Sint-Amandsberg. The Campo Santo has been declared a historical monument by the government. This cemetery is located in the district of Dampoort.

Wikipedia: Campo Santo, Ghent (EN), Heritage Website

1128 meters / 14 minutes

Sight 2: Groot Begijnhof Sint-Elisabeth

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The Groot Begijnhof Sint-Amandsberg is an eight-hectare beguinage in the Sint-Amandsberg suburb just outside the centre of the Belgian city of Ghent. It was built between 1873 and 1874 on the abandonment of the Old Saint Elisabeth Beguinage in the city centre. There is also a third beguinage in Ghent, that of Our-Lady Ter Hooyen.

Wikipedia: Groot Begijnhof Sint-Amandsberg (EN), Heritage Website

0 meters / 0 minutes

Sight 3: Begijnhofkerk Sint-Elisabeth

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The Beguinage Church of Sint-Elisabeth is a church building in the municipality of Sint-Amandsberg in Ghent. It was the beguinage church of the Great Beguinage Sint-Amandsberg that was built in the last quarter of the 19th century. The church is dedicated to Saint Elizabeth, Saint Michael and the Holy Angels.

Wikipedia: Begijnhofkerk Heilige Elisabeth van Hongarije, Heilige Michael en Heilige Engelen (NL), Heritage Website

1158 meters / 14 minutes

Sight 4: St Bavo’s Abbey

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St Bavo’s Abbey

Saint Bavo's Abbey is a former abbey in the currently Belgian city of Ghent. It was founded in the 7th century by Saint Amand, who also founded Saint Peter's Abbey, Ghent, near the confluence of the Leie and Scheldt rivers. Originally, the abbey was also called Ganda, a name of Celtic origin, meaning "river mouth", referring to the Leie river debouching into the Scheldt river.

Wikipedia: Saint Bavo's Abbey (EN), Website, Heritage Website

186 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 5: Sint-Machariuskerk

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St. Macharius Church is a church building in Ghent, Belgium. The church is located near St Bavo's Abbey and is dedicated to Macharius.

Wikipedia: Sint-Machariuskerk (Gent) (NL), Heritage Website

343 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 6: Zwembad Van Eyck

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Zwembad Van Eyck

The Van Eyck swimming pool is the oldest swimming pool in Belgium and is located at the Portus Ganda in Ghent. It is known for its Art Deco décor and is often referred to as "the most beautiful swimming pool in Belgium". It was built in 1886 and includes a 25-metre pool, tub baths, changing rooms, a cafeteria and the administration of the nearby marina. In 2001 it was thoroughly renovated.

Wikipedia: Zwembad Van Eyck (NL), Heritage Website

281 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 7: Sint-Lievenscollege

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The Sint-Lievenscollege is a Catholic group of schools in Ghent, Belgium, composed of a number of elementary and primary schools, a secondary general school ('humaniora') and a secondary vocational trade school.

Wikipedia: Sint-Lievenscollege (EN), Website, Heritage Website

396 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 8: Saint James' Church

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St. James' Church is a church in Ghent, Belgium. The church is dedicated to the apostle James the Greater.

Wikipedia: Sint-Jacobskerk (Gent) (NL), Heritage Website

238 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 9: Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde

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The Royal Flemish Academy for Dutch Language and Literature is an institution focused on the study and promotion of the Dutch language in Flanders. It is the Dutch-speaking counterpart of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique and one of Belgium's numerous academies.

Wikipedia: Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature (EN), Heritage Website

181 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 10: Hogeschool Gent: Koninklijk Conservatorium

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HOGENT is one of the 17 Flemish universities of applied sciences. It was created in 1995 during the reform of higher education in Flanders from a merger of thirteen educational institutions. The branches of the university of applied sciences are spread across Ghent, Aalst, Melle, Lokeren and Bottelare:Campus Aalst Campus Bijloke Campus Grote Sikkel Campus Ledeganck Campus Lokeren Campus Melle Campus Mercator Campus Schoonmeersen Campus Vesalius Proefhoeve Bottelare Site Geraard de Duivelstraat Site Buchtenstraat (FTI-Lab) Gymnasium

Wikipedia: Hogeschool Gent (NL)

208 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 11: Saint Bavo Cathedral

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Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Ghent, Belgium. The 89-meter-tall Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent. It contains the well-known Ghent Altarpiece.

Wikipedia: St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent (EN), Heritage Website

171 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 12: Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg

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The Royal Dutch Theatre (KNS) is a theatre building in Ghent, Belgium.

Wikipedia: Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg (Gent) (NL), Website, Heritage Website

52 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 13: Mammelokker

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Mammelokker

The Mammelokker is a sculpture on the tympanum of a Ghent building from ca. 1741 by master builder David 't Kindt. The name is also used for the building itself, a former jailer's house that leans against the cloth hall near the Belfry of Ghent. The relief is a depiction of the Roman story of Cimon and Pero. In this legend, Pero saves her father from starvation by suckling him into prison. This is why the statue is called Mammelokker. It has been a protected monument since December 28, 1936 and has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1999 as part of the Belfry.

Wikipedia: Mammelokker (NL), Heritage Website

23 meters / 0 minutes

Sight 14: Belfort

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The Belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium; the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Its height of 91 metres (299 ft) makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wikipedia: Belfry of Ghent (EN), Heritage Website

430 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 15: Hotel d'Hane-Steenhuyse

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The Hotel d'Hane-Steenhuyse is an 18th-century hôtel particulier in the Belgian city of Ghent. It is located in the Veldstraat and was formerly owned by the D'Hane de Steenhuyse family.

Wikipedia: Hotel d'Hane-Steenhuyse (EN), Heritage Website

17 meters / 0 minutes

Sight 16: Arnold Vander Haeghen

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Arnold Vander Haeghen Mertens, Joeri / CC BY 4.0

The Museum Arnold Vander Haeghen in the mansion Hotel Clemmen is a museum in the Veldstraat in the Flemish city of Ghent. Highlights of the collection include a reconstruction of the study and library of the Belgian Nobel Prize winner Maurice Maeterlinck, the cabinets of Charles Doudelet and Victor Stuyvaert, and a Chinese salon. The museum is housed in the building of the former Hotel Clemmen, a patrician house that was built in 1746 to a design by David 't Kindt.

Wikipedia: Museum Arnold Vander Haeghen (NL), Heritage Website

248 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 17: Opera Vlaanderen

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Opera Vlaanderen Donar Reiskoffer / CC BY 3.0

The Royal Opera of Ghent was the more than 100-year-old independent Ghent city opera until its merger in 1981 with the Royal Flemish Opera in Antwerp. Both city operas were merged into the organisation Opera voor Vlaanderen, which was renamed Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in 2014.

Wikipedia: Koninklijke Opera (Gent) (NL), Website, Heritage Website

548 meters / 7 minutes

Sight 18: Het Pand

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Het Pand Donar Reiskoffer / CC BY 3.0

Het Pand is a former Dominican monastery in the Belgian city of Ghent. Since 1963, Het Pand has been owned by Ghent University, which has housed a cultural centre and several scientific museums in the building. The entire building is recognized as a monument.

Wikipedia: Het Pand (NL), Heritage Website

249 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 19: Saint Michael's Church

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Saint Michael's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Ghent, Belgium built in a late Gothic style. It is known for its rich interior decoration.

Wikipedia: Saint Michael's Church, Ghent (EN), Heritage Website

65 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 20: Sint-Michielsbrug

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St. Michael's Bridge is a stone arch bridge in the center of the Belgian city of Ghent. The bridge is located over the Leie, on the south side of the Graslei and the Korenlei. The current monumental bridge was built in the period 1905-1909, after the construction of the post office. Both St. Michael's Bridge and the Old Post Office Building were created by architect Louis Cloquet.

Wikipedia: Sint-Michielsbrug (NL), Heritage Website

244 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 21: Design Museum Gent

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Design Museum Gent is a museum in Ghent with an extensive collection of Belgian and international design. The collection includes designs from the Art Nouveau of Henry Van de Velde to contemporary avant-garde design. The museum complex, located in the tourist heart of the city of Ghent, consists of an 18th-century mansion and a modern wing. It is one of the twenty most visited museums in Belgium.

Wikipedia: Design museum Gent (NL)

265 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 22: Oud Postgebouw

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The Old Post Office Building is a monumental building in Ghent, located on the Korenmarkt and on the Graslei, next to the Sint-Michielshelling.

Wikipedia: Oude Postkantoor (Gent) (NL), Heritage Website

206 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 23: Groot Vleeshuis

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The Groot Vleeshuis is a Gothic building built in Ghent in 1408-1417. For centuries it was the covered market and the guildhall of the butcher's trade.

Wikipedia: Groot Vleeshuis (NL), Heritage Website

286 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 24: Dulle Griet

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Dulle Griet

The Dulle Griet is a medieval large-calibre gun founded in Gent (Ghent).

Wikipedia: Dulle Griet (EN), Heritage Website

615 meters / 7 minutes

Sight 25: Museum of Industry

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The Museum of Industry, Work and Textiles is a museum in Ghent in Belgium. Ghent was at the centre of the Flanders textile region. The museum is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

Wikipedia: Museum of Industry (Ghent) (EN), Website

1085 meters / 13 minutes

Sight 26: Kerk Paters Karmelieten

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The Carmelite Fathers, also known as the Monastery Church of the Discalced Carmelites, is a church building in the Belgian city of Ghent. The church was built by the Discalced Carmelites who settled in the city from 1651.

Wikipedia: Kloosterkerk van de Ongeschoeide Karmelieten (Gent) (NL), Heritage Website

378 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 27: De school van toen

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The School of the Past is a museum located at Klein Raamhof 8 in Ghent.

Wikipedia: De School van Toen (NL)

1303 meters / 16 minutes

Sight 28: Sint-Martinuskerk

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St. Martin's Church is a church in Ghent, Belgium. The church is located in the Ekkergem district and is one of the oldest parish churches in Ghent. She is first mentioned in a charter of Lothair from 971.

Wikipedia: Sint-Martinuskerk (Gent) (NL), Heritage Website

1859 meters / 22 minutes

Sight 29: Blaarmeersen

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The Blaarmeersen is a 100-hectare recreation area in the Belgian city of Ghent. It is located along the Ringvaart, the Leie and the Watersportbaan. It is a green area with groves, sunbathing areas and hiking trails around a central lake with a beach, a walkable hill mountain with watchtower, and sports infrastructure.

Wikipedia: Blaarmeersen (NL), Website

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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.

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