As the waiter hoisted my left trainer up to the ceiling in a kind of lobster pot, I couldn’t help but wish that I’d worn nicer socks. Anyway, there I sat, sans sneaker, in Dulle Griet on Vrijdagmarkt, a cracking bar that was jammed with brewery paraphernalia and dozens of adventurous souls keen to explore a beer menu that includes more than 400 Belgian brews.
My tipple of choice was the house special, a 1.2-litre glass of Max beer, served in one of those yard-of-ale-style flasks that are so long they come propped up in a wooden stand. The vessels are painfully expensive and the bar takes a shoe as a deposit to discourage customers from running off with the glass as a souvenir. Although, to be honest, after working my way through this slightly sweet, 7.5 per cent, blond bombshell, I wasn’t for running anywhere.
Ghent, a beautiful medieval port city, is only half an hour’s train ride from Brussels. Electric trams whizz through the car-free cobbled streets and tourist boats bob along the canals, allowing this rug-kneed visitor to gawp at the grand old buildings on Graslei and the 900-year-old castle, Gravensteen, which looms ominously in the centre of town.
“Electric trams whizz through cobbled streets and tourist boats bob along the canals
The city’s skyline is still dominated by the three towers of St Nicholas’s Church, the Unesco-protected Belfry and St Bavo’s Cathedral — home to The Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck. This 12-panel work, which has just gone back on display after a four-year restoration, is considered the world’s first significant oil painting and one of the finest examples of northern Renaissance art. The level of detail and technique is staggering and goes some way to explain why it has become known as the most stolen artwork of all time, coveted by Napoleon and Hitler. Now it stands behind protective glass, watched over by CCTV and a skinny teenager with lank hair and a sudoku. If only he’d been around when the Nazis were in town.
As one would hope in a Belgian city, there are chocolate shops and waffle stalls at every turn. Smartly dressed folk wander along, their faces buried in cones of fries. On Groentenmarkt hawkers sell vile raspberry and liquorice-flavoured treats known as Ghent noses, which are surely only ever sold to tourists tired of spending money on chocolate.
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Behind a clutch of nose dealers, I found the old mustard shop Tierenteyn-Verlent, which has been trading in this spot since 1867. It uses a recipe that dates back to Napoleon’s occupation of Belgium and a local’s attempt to replicate the taste of Dijon. The result is a fresh, fiery, runny delight that is prepared in the shop’s basement and poured into a stone pot of your choosing. Magnificent.
Of course, man cannot live on mustard alone, and what better way to wash down the hot brown goo than with the finest beers known to humanity? Pubs such as Waterhuis aan de Bierkant cling to the canalside near Groentenmarkt, dispensing beer so strong you can order only a single small glass. Just north of Vrijdagmarkt, near St James’s Church, the funky Afsnis Café plays to the hipster crowd with artisanal ales made by kidults with beards. Over the road the Trollekelder pub is a 15th-century warren of passageways filled with beer and, well, trolls.
Maybe strangely for a place that seems to have booze coursing through its veins, there is only one brewery in the city. The Gruut Brewery on Rembert Dodoensdreef has been running since 2009 and stands out from the crowd by shunning hops and using herbs to balance the sweet malt notes. Whether you opt for a tour or not, you can sit back with a tasting flight of its five beers. And you know what? It’s good stuff. Not using hops seems to be like not putting a bay leaf in soup. You can tell something’s different, but you don’t really know what.
So, here’s my good news from Ghent: it’s very close, it’s very pretty and it’s absolutely chock-full with wonderful bars. It’s not as touristy as Bruges or as busy as Brussels, but is all the better for it. Just be sure to wear decent socks.
The budget hotel
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Ghent Marriot Hotel
The Marriot has a terrific location overlooking a canal and is near Ghent’s historic centre. Traditional and grand on the outside, the hotel is sleek and modern on the inside, with comfortable rooms and a big central bar. Doubles cost from €108 (marriot.com).
The luxury hotel
Hotel Verhaegen
This is what happens when interior designers buy a hotel. High ceilings, lavish furnishings and a beautiful French garden make this a fabulous retreat, just a few streets back from the heart of the city. Doubles cost from €210 (neooselonneo.be).
Need to know
Mike Atkins was a guest of Visit Flanders (visitflanders.com). Ghent is two and a half hours from London St Pancras by train, changing in Brussels. Eurostar has rail tickets from £34.50. A 48-hour Ghent Citycard costs €30 and includes access to museums and monuments, as well as public transport.
Where to eat
Belga Queen (00 32 9 280 01 00, belgaqueen.be) is a slick, multi-level affair on the Graslei canalside that attracts a young, fashionable crowd. The menu is modern Belgian and focuses on seafood, including salmon marinated in beer (€17.50) and turbot baked on the bone (€38).
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Farther north, in among the narrow alleys and cute squares of Patershol, De Stokerij (00 32 9 279 95 85, destokerij-gent.be) is a relaxed brasserie set in an old brewery. The food comes with pairing suggestions from the lengthy beer list and highlights include the pig-cheek stew (€18.50).
