Experience in Gent, Belgium by Jasper

What is it like to live in Gent? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Ghent is a small and cosy city, not as big as Brussels, not as touristic as Bruges, but it combines the best qualities of both. Ghent has a beautiful old city part where it is very nice to walk through. Most parts are carfree so you don't have to worry about being ran down. I definitely recommend Ghent, it is not that known but that makes it even more interesting. Not only the old city but also the different kinds of bars and the alternative scene are interesting.

What is the student lifestyle like in Gent?

Ghent is a real student friendly city, you can reach every part by bike. There's always something to do: cultural festivals, parties or just sitting on a nice terrace with a beer. There are a lot of students in Ghent so you never get bored.

How much does it cost to live in Gent?

The housing is getting more and more expensive you have to think about prices between 270 and 350 euro. For a beer you pay mostly around 2 euro and the bars. Food isn't that expensive in super markets and if you look good you can find also some cheap restaurants.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Gent? Is there any advice you can give?

It is not that hard to find accomodation, it's smart to look on sites like kotatgent en ikot, or just apply to the dormitories of the university or highschools, these are pretty good and not that expensive.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Ghent has a lot to offer: Belgian dishes, kebab (a lot of Turkish restaurants), pizza, pasta, chinese food and ... a lot of vegetarian restaurants. Ghent is a vegetarianfriendly city which I like a lot. There are a lot of good vegetarian restaurants if you look on the internet and almost every restaurant has some vegetarian alternatives. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on restaurants just go to the studentresto's of the university, these are very cheap and the food is also good. Every day you can have a vegetarian dish and thursday is veggieday.

What places would you recommend visiting in Gent?

Just take a walk in the old city, visit the big cathedrals like Sint-Baafs, go to the Vrijdagsmarkt and St-Jacobsmarkt and so on. You can take a boattrip on the narrow canals of Ghent which will give you a nice impression of the city. On sunny days definitely go to the graslei, take your drinks and just chill out. You can also go to the Blaarmeersen which is a recreational park not far from the city.

Is it good to eat out in Gent? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Of course it's good to eat in Ghent (look above). My favorite spots are Komkommertijd (vegetarian), Bluesette (cheap spaghetti), the Walrus (nice meals every day).

Is the nightlife good in Gent? Where is good to go?

Nightlife is very good, if you just want to go to a bar, you can go almost everywhere in the city for drink. There are a lot of bars who offer more than 100 beers. If you like dancing the Overpoortstraat is the place to be. It's one street full of bars so you can go from one place to another. But I prefer to go to Charlatan or Sioux these clubs/bars do not lay in Ghents barstreet but they place good music over there. In Sioux there are a lot of indieparties.

What advice would you give future students headed to Gent?

Just enjoy, it's small so you will definitely won't be bored because of the intensity Ghent spreads out.