Exploring Ghent with kids: A local’s insider guide

Explore My City: Ghent with guest blogger Annick

Next up in our Explore My City series, we are delighted to introduce you to Annick and family from Our World Heritage taking us through their beautiful home city of Ghent, Belgium.

Hi! We are Maarten, Annick & Febe, a Belgian family with a passion for traveling. Whenever possible, we set out to discover a part of our world, often taking Tรบrin, our fluffy fourth family member along with us. When traveling, we try to keep a focus on UNESCO World Heritage sites, nature and wildlife, local people, food and traditions. Ghent is the city we were born and raised in.

Ghent Skyline | Ghent with Kids | OurGlobetrotters.Net

Lonely Planet stated it for the first time back in 2011: โ€œGhent might just be the best European city you’ve never thought of visiting, in a country that continues to be criminally overlooked.โ€

Ghent, or Belgium for that matter, might not be on your bucket list, but Iโ€™m about to explain why it should be. And youโ€™ve got plenty of reasons to bring along your kids!

Ghent is a city rich in stunning architecture, mostly from the (late) Middle Ages. Itโ€™s a cosy town, where everything is within walking distance. It feels like a village, but itโ€™s a vibrant city.

Walking alongside its canals, visiting one or more museums or sampling Belgium’s finest beers โ€“ youโ€™ve got plenty of fun things to do in Ghent as an adult. Hereโ€™s what we think you should do with your kids!

1. Activities with Kids in Ghent

Concrete Canvas Tour

One of the nicest ways to explore the city centre without boring your children, is taking the โ€œConcrete Canvas Tour”. You can pick up a free map at the Tourist office (St. Veerleplein, Oude Vismijn) and choose to walk or bike around the city, looking for street art along the way.

Ghent is famous for Roa, who was also born and raised here, and Buรฉ. They are both very different in style, but kids love them both. Numerous other artists have left their mark in our city as well.

Explore Ghent with Kids | OurGlobetrotters.Net

Medieval history and a bit of torture

The Castle of Counts lies smack in the middle of our city, making it a very unique location. You can visit the castle, which has an interesting tour, a fascinating torture room and an exhibit of armour. The castle walls provide you with lovely sights of the city and the canals.

For the best view: go UNESCO

Part of the Unesco World Heritage, our Belfry offers the best views in the city. You can climb all the way up to the platform beneath the clocks โ€“ just below the gold dragon that watches over us.

Explore Ghent with Kids | OurGlobetrotters.Net

Row, row, row your boat

You donโ€™t have to actually row yourself, but the boat tours that leave from Graslei, Korenlei or Kraanlei give you a guided tour from the waterfront. Children love exploring this way, and you get a good deal of history while youโ€™re at it. For the more sporty types, thereโ€™s also the opportunity to row the boat yourself.


Have you thought about a customised local tour?  Find out how to book yours here


Musea

Ghent has plenty of musea to keep you busy for a while, but we find the two best to visit with children are STAM (a very modern and interactive museum about the history of the city) and Designmuseum (with a fun โ€˜find the playmobilโ€™ tour for children and often great activities for them in the temporary exhibits).

Design Museum| Ghent with Kids | OurGlobetrotters.Net

2. Food for Kids in Ghent

While the adults will obviously want to try some Belgian beers (our recommendations are Gruut, Gulden Draak, Liefmans Kriek and Augustijn โ€“ though best not all at once!), thereโ€™s plenty of lovely food to try while youโ€™re around.

Neuzekes

The candy of our city. Neuzekes, meaning noses, can be found at Groentenmarkt, where youโ€™ll always find two stalls selling them. The cone shaped candy has a bit of a violet taste, with a liquid cream inside. Buy a bag to snack on while youโ€™re strolling around.

Traditional candy

At Kraanlei 79 youโ€™ll find Temmerman, a tiny candy shop in a lovely old house. They make traditional Ghentian & Belgian candy.

Ice โ€“ cream @ Graslei

When the weather is good, do as the locals do: buy some food and drinks, and eat them at Graslei (or Korenlei, which has the better views and is less crowded). For the children nothing beats an ice cream to lick on while taking in the sights. You can find a large selection at Damass, Korenmarkt.

Graslei | Ghent with Kids | OurGlobetrotters.Net

And if that all wasnโ€™t sweet enoughโ€ฆ โ€ฆ then you donโ€™t want to miss out on the delicious cupcakes and pies of Julies Houses (Kraanlei). They almost look to good to be eaten!

Fancy something savoury?

Iโ€™m pretty certain thereโ€™s a lot of food in town that children will love. Numerous eateries have โ€˜stoverijโ€™ on the menu, a traditional beef stew with a beer sauce. The alcohol is evaporated in the cooking process, so itโ€™s safe to serve it to your minors ๐Ÿ˜‰

If they dig spaghetti, head over to Kastart in Onderbergen โ€“ but there might be a queue at lunchtime.

Closeby, at Jacobijnenstraat, youโ€™ll find Balls โ€˜n Glory: traditional Belgian meatballs, filled with a liquid filling that changes daily. They can be eaten with โ€˜stoempโ€™ (mashed potatoes with veggies) or a salad. Their homemade lemonade is a treat!

But the one thing you must try when in Belgian are fries from a โ€œfrietkotโ€, or fries shop. The best ones in the centre are the tiny one in one of the shops tucked alongside the meathouse (Groentenmarkt) or the old stall on Vrijdagmarkt. Try to have a pack of fries with mayonnaise, with a frikandel (for the adults make that a frikandel speciaal).

3. Need some air?

If all that city exploring has left your children with a cultural hangover, you might want to head a little outside the city centre for some extra fun. Blaarmeersen is a large recreational area. It has a big lake, a campsite, a beach, a playground and numerous possibilities to sport. Itโ€™s the place to be when the weather is hot! Have a rainy day? Head to the other side of town and go swimming at Rozebroeken. This swimming pool has a regular 50m pool, but also has a tropical lagoon, with a lot of slides and a huge toddler area. In summertime their outdoor water playground is also open.

4. Fancy a party (or two)?

Every year in July, the city of Ghent transforms into one big festival. Most of it is free. You can see concerts, street theater, fireworks and parades during the 10 day festival โ€œGentse Feestenโ€.

It starts the Friday before the 21st of July. There are ups and downs to this festival. First of all, the city is packed with visitors. Last year 1.38 million people attended the festival. This means accommodation has to be booked well in advance, and it also means the city is very crowded.

The city is also packed with stages, so you donโ€™t get the best view of all the sights. The ups are the tons of free stuff to do, and sometimes you can see very good (Belgian) bands for free or for a couple of โ‚ฌ.

Boomtown and Polรฉ Polรฉ are probably the two best spots to look out for! With young children I wouldnโ€™t recommend it โ€“ certainly not when youโ€™re staying in the city (you will lack some sleep). Teenagers will love it though!

Bear in mind that in the period just after Gentse Feesten a lot of restaurants and local shops close down for their annual holiday. They need their rest after those 10 days!


Want to save yourself some money on a Ghent weekend?  Check out the Ghent City Guide with Ghent Card.


Wow, I don’t know about you but I am salivating at all these great food ideas visiting Ghent! Thanks so much to Annick and her family for sharing with tips and ideas for visiting Ghent with kids

You may like to read next about Luxembourg with kids, or travel east to Amsterdam for a day.

Bookmark this page or save it to Pinterest for Later

Ghent with Kids - Explore My City guide to Ghent with local mumma Annick

Did you catch the rest of our Explore My City Series?  Written by parents with the inside scoop on what to do in the city they call home.

Explore My City - Introduction to Guest Blogging for Our Globetrotters

Like it? Share it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.