Visit Ghent - 5 Things You Will Love & Hate About Gent, Belgium - Wolters World
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Date: 2022-02-04
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Comments and reviews: 10
Drew
Hi Mark, I really like your straight-up videos. The reason that Gent is great is because it is a living city. There are real businesses providing services to the locals, tourists and locals and those purely for the tourists. The weekends are happening because of the locals and tourists, but not because of the students. Many students have a train ticket deal where they get to go home and back for a discount rate and they go home each weekend and get their washing done and fill up their Tupperware with home cooking to save money. Thursday night is student night and the town is happening in a different way - traditionally concentrated around Overpoortstraat. I'm not so sure about the service issues entirely - I find the Gentenaars have some personal pride as to providing good service - it may not be American sycophantic service and maybe the heavily touristed places in the centre are slow, but it is definitely okay and way better than some other places. You're unlikely to get a train from Brussels to Gent-Dampoort as that station mostly serves trains heading to and from Antwerp and the north-east regions of East Flanders, but even then most trains head to Gent-Sint-Pieters. Travelling around Gent can be pretty easy because a single ticket can be used for unlimited travel on De Lijn trams and buses within Gent for 1. 5 hours - so it's pretty simple when getting from the station into town. Keep up the great work with your videos! You are one of the first ports of call that I make when looking at a new travel destination.
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Hi Mark, I really like your straight-up videos. The reason that Gent is great is because it is a living city. There are real businesses providing services to the locals, tourists and locals and those purely for the tourists. The weekends are happening because of the locals and tourists, but not because of the students. Many students have a train ticket deal where they get to go home and back for a discount rate and they go home each weekend and get their washing done and fill up their Tupperware with home cooking to save money. Thursday night is student night and the town is happening in a different way - traditionally concentrated around Overpoortstraat. I'm not so sure about the service issues entirely - I find the Gentenaars have some personal pride as to providing good service - it may not be American sycophantic service and maybe the heavily touristed places in the centre are slow, but it is definitely okay and way better than some other places. You're unlikely to get a train from Brussels to Gent-Dampoort as that station mostly serves trains heading to and from Antwerp and the north-east regions of East Flanders, but even then most trains head to Gent-Sint-Pieters. Travelling around Gent can be pretty easy because a single ticket can be used for unlimited travel on De Lijn trams and buses within Gent for 1. 5 hours - so it's pretty simple when getting from the station into town. Keep up the great work with your videos! You are one of the first ports of call that I make when looking at a new travel destination.
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Juh-Roon
Yeah sure, but the Dampoort Station (and the whole area) is not the most visually appealing place to start your journey. St-Pieters has a much more enjoyable area (and a way prettier station with a mix of modern and vintage 1900's, easier access to the public transport (tram 1 will get you in the busiest/historical part in about ten minutes as where the busstops at Dampoort station are spread out outside of the station and has nothing going for itself) and has a lot more options for you to start your trip. Hell, even the toilets (all two of 'em) don't even work at Dampoort Station due to 'consistent vandalism'. Something you won't see (that often) in St-Pieters station. My advice; skip the whole Dampoort advice and ignore the whole watch out for rowdy Brits part (I never encountered a drunk/annoying Brit once) and have a blast. Tip; visit 'Bier Central'. It serves over 300 kinds of Belgian bottled beer. You're welcome.
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Yeah sure, but the Dampoort Station (and the whole area) is not the most visually appealing place to start your journey. St-Pieters has a much more enjoyable area (and a way prettier station with a mix of modern and vintage 1900's, easier access to the public transport (tram 1 will get you in the busiest/historical part in about ten minutes as where the busstops at Dampoort station are spread out outside of the station and has nothing going for itself) and has a lot more options for you to start your trip. Hell, even the toilets (all two of 'em) don't even work at Dampoort Station due to 'consistent vandalism'. Something you won't see (that often) in St-Pieters station. My advice; skip the whole Dampoort advice and ignore the whole watch out for rowdy Brits part (I never encountered a drunk/annoying Brit once) and have a blast. Tip; visit 'Bier Central'. It serves over 300 kinds of Belgian bottled beer. You're welcome.
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MG
Lol, how is your number 4 of thing you'll hate a bad thing?
It's one of the things I love the most! That everything is a lot quieter during the evening. This is one of those things I actually hated about going to NY. There's never a moment of peace and quiet. NY is quite literally the city that never sleeps, and that is extremely exhausting in many ways. Not just as a tourist, but a resident as well I reckon.
Besides, if you want activity, there's plenty of it in the evening. There are club areas kind of between the center and Sint-Pieter's station. Also, the restaurants are also occupied during the evenings. There's activity if you look for it. I just don't know why you'd want to.
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Lol, how is your number 4 of thing you'll hate a bad thing?
It's one of the things I love the most! That everything is a lot quieter during the evening. This is one of those things I actually hated about going to NY. There's never a moment of peace and quiet. NY is quite literally the city that never sleeps, and that is extremely exhausting in many ways. Not just as a tourist, but a resident as well I reckon.
Besides, if you want activity, there's plenty of it in the evening. There are club areas kind of between the center and Sint-Pieter's station. Also, the restaurants are also occupied during the evenings. There's activity if you look for it. I just don't know why you'd want to.
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Rizki
I lived in Europe 2002-2010/2011 (NL and surrounding) and you must love to walk. 2 kilometers walk is really nothing, I used to walk for fun from North Amsterdam to Southeast. Even I walked in 2009/2010 winter I walked even longer in middle of the night alone in the snow, bored from cars daily, so I wanted to know how to walk the roads I always went through cars. The same in Paris, I did long walk as well for fun, alone, but also one way, went back home with vehicle.
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I lived in Europe 2002-2010/2011 (NL and surrounding) and you must love to walk. 2 kilometers walk is really nothing, I used to walk for fun from North Amsterdam to Southeast. Even I walked in 2009/2010 winter I walked even longer in middle of the night alone in the snow, bored from cars daily, so I wanted to know how to walk the roads I always went through cars. The same in Paris, I did long walk as well for fun, alone, but also one way, went back home with vehicle.
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Dziiv
1: you can just take the tram to the center of the city, and I think the station itself even is worth a visit.
3: sorry! You can find really nice people and restaurants if you look for it, maybe not on the Vrijdagsmarkt, but there are nice people
4: I think that's a pro, not a con, because Ghent is also beautiful at night, and after 6 oclock you dont have that much people who are just doing shopping, so you have more space.
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1: you can just take the tram to the center of the city, and I think the station itself even is worth a visit.
3: sorry! You can find really nice people and restaurants if you look for it, maybe not on the Vrijdagsmarkt, but there are nice people
4: I think that's a pro, not a con, because Ghent is also beautiful at night, and after 6 oclock you dont have that much people who are just doing shopping, so you have more space.
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travel
3 is just not a rule, the thing is that the culture around restaurants is way different, they get paid a higher base wage, but 1 people here don't like being bothered whilst eating, if you need a drink, or something extra you hail a waiter or go to the bar, they wil gladly bring you what you want, 2 perhaps you have not gone to the right restaurants
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3 is just not a rule, the thing is that the culture around restaurants is way different, they get paid a higher base wage, but 1 people here don't like being bothered whilst eating, if you need a drink, or something extra you hail a waiter or go to the bar, they wil gladly bring you what you want, 2 perhaps you have not gone to the right restaurants
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Frugal
Just came back from Gent. Actually during Christmas time, many shops are open till late night. I was strolling around the main squares trying out different food stalls till 10 pm, and stores were also open, taking advantage of the throngs of people present who will of course buy stuff.
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Just came back from Gent. Actually during Christmas time, many shops are open till late night. I was strolling around the main squares trying out different food stalls till 10 pm, and stores were also open, taking advantage of the throngs of people present who will of course buy stuff.
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Kate
one we reason we (senior me, 43-year-old art historian daughter, and 18-yr-old granddaughter aspiring to become anthropologist/psychiatrist) chose Ghent as our Belgian base is vegetarian capital of Europe Make sure we don't need to survive on bread, cheese, and chocolate all week. :D
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one we reason we (senior me, 43-year-old art historian daughter, and 18-yr-old granddaughter aspiring to become anthropologist/psychiatrist) chose Ghent as our Belgian base is vegetarian capital of Europe Make sure we don't need to survive on bread, cheese, and chocolate all week. :D
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jo
Es me da stik triestegoart en leegzak! Pakt den tram, domme mutten! Ge zuut beter ne kier kijke naar eu eigen Amerikoanse steden! ost er iets lelijk es, est da wel en van service hebben ze doar zeker gien verstand!
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Es me da stik triestegoart en leegzak! Pakt den tram, domme mutten! Ge zuut beter ne kier kijke naar eu eigen Amerikoanse steden! ost er iets lelijk es, est da wel en van service hebben ze doar zeker gien verstand!
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MsCuberdon
I'm from Ghent. If you think Ghent is boring, you missed going to the many amazing cafe's we have. Every July there's also the Ghent festival (10 days of partying) with thousands of visitors each year!
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I'm from Ghent. If you think Ghent is boring, you missed going to the many amazing cafe's we have. Every July there's also the Ghent festival (10 days of partying) with thousands of visitors each year!
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