Introduction
East Flanders is built around Ghent, often described as Belgium's best-kept secret — a genuine medieval city with Bruges-level architecture and canals but a fraction of the tourist crowds, anchored by one of European art history's founding masterpieces.
Overview
Ghent's Saint Bavo's Cathedral holds the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a 1432 altarpiece by Jan van Eyck widely credited as one of the works that established oil painting as a serious European medium — a UNESCO Memory of the World inscription and a genuine reason on its own to visit the city. Around the cathedral, Ghent's historic centre pairs the Gravensteen, a startlingly intact medieval castle with a genuinely walkable battlement circuit, with the Graslei and Korenlei — twin guild-house-lined quays along the Leie river that form one of Belgium's most photographed urban views, especially lit at night. Unlike Bruges, Ghent is a genuinely lived-in university city rather than a heritage-district-first destination, which gives its historic core a livelier, less staged atmosphere even as the architecture matches Bruges' own density.
Discover East Flanders
Jan van Eyck's Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, completed in 1432 and installed in Saint Bavo's Cathedral ever since (aside from wartime removals, including a well-documented Nazi-era seizure and Allied recovery from an Austrian salt mine, and several thefts of individual panels over the centuries, one panel still never recovered), is considered one of the founding masterpieces of European oil painting — its level of realistic detail was genuinely unprecedented for its time. A dedicated visitor centre within the cathedral now displays the restored altarpiece with high-resolution digital tools that let visitors examine brushwork invisible to the naked eye, alongside the original panels themselves.
Ways to Experience This Destination
Jan van Eyck's 1432 masterpiece in Saint Bavo's Cathedral, a founding work of European oil painting with a dedicated visitor centre for close examination.
The Gravensteen castle's full battlement circuit and the Graslei/Korenlei guild-house quays — Bruges-level architecture with a fraction of the tourist density.
A genuinely lived-in historic centre with student bars, independent cafés and the Patershol district's restaurant scene, distinct from a purely heritage-district feel.
East Flanders Travel Notes
- Ghent is reached from Brussels-Midi in under forty minutes by direct train — one of the shortest, most frequent city connections in Belgium.
- The historic centre is compact and fully walkable; a tram network covers the wider city for accommodation outside the immediate centre.
- Graslei and Korenlei are most photogenic at dusk, once the guild-house facades are lit.
- The Gravensteen's full battlement circuit and dungeon sections are included in general admission — allow at least an hour to see the castle properly.
- Patershol, just north of the Gravensteen, holds some of Ghent's best restaurants in genuinely historic buildings — worth seeking out over the more obviously touristic streets near the cathedral.
Frequently asked questions
Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.