How many stops are on the Quick 4-Hour Walk walking tour in Ghent?

The Quick 4-Hour Walk route in Ghent includes 6 curated stops.

How long does the Quick 4-Hour Walk tour in Ghent take?

The Quick 4-Hour Walk walking tour in Ghent takes approximately 3 hours at a leisurely pace.

Is the Quick 4-Hour Walk walking tour in Ghent free?

Yes, Promenario's Quick 4-Hour Walk tour in Ghent is free to download and use, with full offline support.

🇧🇪 Ghent, Belgium

Quick 4-Hour Walk in Ghent

A compact set of stops suitable for short city visits. Explore 6 curated stops in Ghent, including Gravensteen Castle, Belfort (The Belfry of Ghent), and The House of Alijn. Highlights include Gravensteen Castle, rated 4.6/5 by 34,140 visitors.

6 stops ~3h Available in app

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6 places in this collection

Quick 4-Hour Walk places

6 places in this collection

Image by Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0

Gravensteen Castle

The Gravensteen (Dutch; literally 'Castle of the Counts') is a medieval castle at Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium. The current castle dates to 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton factory. It was restored over 1893 - 1903 and is now a museum and a major landmark in the city. Built by Count Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders, soon after he returned from the Crusades with images of similar crusader castles in the Holy Land. If its walls (2m thick), battlements, and turrets failed to intimidate attackers, the count could always turn to a well-equipped torture chamber inside. You can view relics of the chamber in a small museum in the castle. Climb up to the ramparts of the high central building, the donjon, which has great views of Ghent's rooftops and towers.

Image by Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0

Belfort (The Belfry of Ghent)

The 91-metre-tall belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Its height 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 inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Through the centuries, the belfry served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and the place where the documents evidencing the municipal privileges were kept. The primary bell in the tower, called Roland, was also used to warn the citizens of Ghent of an approaching enemy or a battle won. The Belfry was a symbol of the city's autonomy, begun in 1313 and completed in 1380. This municipal tower holds the great bells that have rung out Ghent's civic pride through the centuries. Take the elevator to the Belfry's upper gallery, 66m high, to see the bells and take in fantastic panoramic views of the city. The Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) dates from 1425 and was the gathering place of wool and cloth merchants. The Cloth Hall is free to visit.

Image by rene boulay, CC BY-SA 3.0

The House of Alijn

The Huis van Alijn (Dutch for: Alijn Hospital, literally House of Alijn) is a museum located on the Kraanlei in Ghent. The House of Alijn displays cultural artifacts of Flemish recent and not so recent past. The visitor attains more insight into Flemish heritage by looking at old photograph albums, jewelry, old toys and so on. These objects reveal the spirit of the times as well as ways and customs and they remind us of the days in the past. Learn how people used to live around Ghent.

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Image by Vitaly Volkov, CC BY 2.5

Patershol Quarter

14th century quarter called 'Patershol', near the Castle. This cosy, picturesque neighbourhood is hidden in the shadow of the glorious Castle of the Counts. The pattern of streets has been the same since medieval times and is worth a visit. This area is pedestrian-friendly (no cars allowed), so it is the ideal place to have a walk. Although it seems like a tiny place, there are currently 500 families living there, among them a lot of artists, such as the Belgian-Argentinian painter Cecilia Jaime. Furthermore, this entourage is home to some specialist shops and art galleries, and houses some good restaurants.

Image by Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0

Friday Market Square (Vrijdagmarkt)

Vrijdagmarkt (English: Friday Market) is a city square in the historic center of Ghent. It is named after the weekly tradition to stage a market every Friday morning. As one of the oldest squares in Ghent, it played an important role in the city's history. With its dimensions of roughly 100 by 100 m, it is one of the largest public squares in Ghent. Every Friday morning the square is filled with market stalls; a tradition dating back to 1199. The centerpiece of the plaza is the statue of Jacob van Artevelde, Ghent's wise man who sided with England during the Hundred Years' War and was murdered on the site in 1345. The place is surrounded with guildhalls, which currently house bars, restaurants and terraces. In the northerly corner there are two monumental art nouveau buildings of the socialist movement, built at the turn of the 20th century, which currently house the socialist health insurance federation and the Socialist National Trade Union Federation.

Image by Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 3.0

Dulle Griet (Mad Meg)

The Dulle Griet ('Mad Meg', named after the Flemish folklore figure Dull Gret) is a medieval supergun founded in Mons (Bergen). Three cannons were founded: one resides now in Edinburgh and is called 'Mons Meg', and the last one was in France but has since been lost. The wrought-iron bombard was constructed in the first half of the 15th century from 32 longitudinal bars enclosed by 61 rings. In 1452, the bombard was employed by the city of Ghent in the siege of Oudenaarde, but fell into the hands of the defenders on the retreat and was only returned to Ghent in 1578. Today, the bombard is set up close to the Friday Market square in the old town. Besides the Dulle Griet, a number of 15th-century European superguns are known to have been employed primarily in siege warfare, including the wrought-iron Pumhart von Steyr and Mons Meg as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette, Faule Grete and Grose Bochse.

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