Ghent
Gent51°03′ N 3°44′ ECityPop. 272,657Belgium
Ghent (Gent in Dutch, Gand in French) suits travellers who want a lively city around a big Christmas market. The Ghent Winter Festival runs from 3 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 and starts later than the markets in Brussels and Bruges, so a late-November trip will miss it.
Photo Gordito1869 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Ghent puts a big Christmas market inside a working city, and it sits on the rail line between Brussels and Bruges. Staying in the old centre puts the Winter Festival and St Bavo's Cathedral on foot.
Eat in Ghent
PakhuisBrasserie
A brasserie on the Schuurkenstraat cooking Belgian food with a focus on seafood, plus an oyster bar. The kitchen serves 12:00–14:15 and from 18:30, and it closes on Sundays and public holidays.
Drink in Ghent
Dulle GrietDulle GrietBeer café
A beer café on the Vrijdagmarkt where ordering the house beer, Max van 't Huis, means handing over a shoe as deposit; it goes up to the ceiling in a basket until you finish the glass. No reservations.
Things to do in Ghent
Take the train from Ghent
- Ghent to Brussels · timetable
The Ghent Winter Festival (Gentse Winterfeesten) fills the squares between St Bavo's Cathedral and the Korenmarkt with more than 150 chalets. Its rink under the Stadshal uses real ice, and the Ferris wheel turns on the Korenmarkt. For 2026 it runs to Sunday 3 January for the first time, after the city extended it to the last Sunday of the Christmas holidays.
St Bavo's Cathedral at the top of the market holds the Ghent Altarpiece. Its restoration runs until spring 2027, so seven panels in the cathedral are photographs for now, and the MSK museum shows the upper register under restoration. Timed tickets start at €12.50.
No traffic passes between the city hall and the Emile Braunplein during the festival, deliveries included. The organizer suggests walking in from Gent-Dampoort station. Drivers can leave the car at one of the free park-and-ride sites and take a tram or bus, and cyclists get temporary racks near the Sint-Baafsplein.
Worth knowing
- Ghent's low-emission zone covers the centre; the Gent Zuid, Ledeberg, Het Getouw, Gent-Dampoort and Gent-Sint-Pieters car parks sit outside it.
- The Fietsambassade runs a door-to-door cycle taxi for people with limited mobility during the festival.
- Pakhuis is closed on 25 and 31 December and 1 January 2027, and serves lunch only on 24 December.
Quick answers about Ghent
When is the Ghent Christmas market in 2026?
The Ghent Winter Festival runs from Thursday 3 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, according to the organizer.
Is Ghent or Bruges better at Christmas?
It depends on the trip. Ghent's Winter Festival spreads more than 150 chalets over seven squares from 3 December, and the Bruges market uses two squares from 20 November with a covered rink nearby.
Which station is closest to the Ghent Christmas market?
Gent-Dampoort. The Ghent Winter Festival organizer names Gent-Dampoort as the station within walking distance of the centre.
Is Ghent a good place to stay?
Ghent puts a big Christmas market inside a working city, and it sits on the rail line between Brussels and Bruges. Staying in the old centre puts the Winter Festival and St Bavo's Cathedral on foot.
Within 12 km
Places to stay nearby
