One point to note about this hotel - and many others from the research we did - is that parking is a problem. The hotel does have a car park, but it charges a whopping 30 Euros a day - not only that, but there are far fewer spaces than rooms. Parking is not cheap anywhere in Ghent unless you use some of the park and rides on the outskirts of the city, most of which are free - however, we weren't overly comfortable about leaving our car there unattended for two nights. In the end, we parked at the Savaanstraat car park, which has security and cost around 26 Euros for the nearly-48 hours we were there. This is not the closest car park to the hotel, but the closer car parks are all far more expensive. However, it was still only a ten-minute walk - not a problem unless you come loaded with cases!
We arrived in Ghent at around 9pm on a Friday. It was fairly straightforward to find the hotel - what was less straightforward was finding somewhere for something to eat. At this late time, we didn't really want a sit-down meal, but this is what all the restaurants in the area seemed to cater for. The more 'snacky' places (Subway, Pizza Hut) were already closed. We finally found a pizza/pasta cafe near St Bavo's, where we were able to get something to eat (although the proprietor had clearly been hoping to close up!). We later discovered there was a McDonald's just around the corner from the hotel in the opposite direction - and while we normally prefer to eat somewhere more authentic, it would have been perfect on a Friday night when we just wanted to fill a gap!
Struggling to find somewhere to eat proved to be a bit of a recurring theme throughout our weekend. Ghent is packed to the rafters with restaurants, but most of these (apart from the aforementioned chains) are sit-down, three-course-meal-type places. And, much as I'd like to have two main meals a day (we're on holiday, right?!), prices in Ghent are pretty high and this just wasn't feasible. We finally found somewhere for lunch called Le Chat Noir - in fact, we liked it so much we came back the next day! Located at the Vrijdagmarkt, the interior is cosy, quirky and typically Belgian. The service was friendly, the drinks well presented (the kids were gutted when they saw the chocolate peanut and mini muffin that came with the hot drinks!) and I can wholeheartedly recommend the chicken and pineapple panini. (I later noticed it has fairly poor reviews on Trip Advisor - I have no idea why!) Dinner was a whole other issue. We spent much of Saturday keeping an eye out for the perfect restaurant for that evening - specifically, we were looking for somewhere child-friendly, not too extortionately priced and that served waterzooi (first tried in Brussels fifteen years ago and never forgotten!). We narrowed it down to a few choices and came back to our first choice at around 6.30 that evening - completely full, no reservations. Oh. We tried our second choice - same story. This continued as we walked our way around Ghent - everywhere was full. We soon stopped caring about child-friendliness, prices or waterzooi - we just wanted somewhere to sit down and eat dinner - but nowhere had space. We had been walking around for an hour and a half, ready to give up and go to McDonalds, when we finally found the Brasserie Borluut just around the corner from the hotel. In fact, it had so many empty tables, we thought we must have made a mistake - and then, when we were able to sit down and order, we worried everyone else must know something we didn't. We needn't have worried - it was friendly, reasonably priced (for Ghent!) and the food was delicious - they even had waterzooi! Anyway, the moral is, if you are planning to eat out in Ghent, book ahead!
As far as attractions go, there are plenty of things to see and do in Ghent, and we barely scratched the surface in a weekend. We spent Saturday morning visiting St Nicholas' Church and St Bavo's Cathedral, both well worth a visit and both free (although there is a charge to see the famous 'Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' painting by the Van Eyck brothers, which is situated at the cathedral).
We also went to the belfry, where the views from the top are amazing. Unusually for an old building, you can take a lift to the top if you fancy taking it easy - in fact, this is probably safer than using the spiral staircase, as this is very narrow and it is a tight squeeze when passing anyone going in the other direction.
In the afternoon, we went on a boat trip. It has to be said, even with the blankets they kindly provided, this was COLD in December - so cold, in fact, that we had to go back to the hotel to warm up afterwards. Temperature aside, this was a pleasant and informative way to see and learn a bit more about Ghent, and I'd recommend it - particularly in the summer!
On Sunday morning, we got the tram to the modern art museum (SMAK!) - this is a nice size, with enough to keep us and the children interested but not so much we got bored. It's also situated on the edge of a park, which made for a pleasant wander (even more so in the summer, I would assume).
In the afternoon, we visited the Castle of the Counts - sadly, our visit was somewhat rushed, as we had to leave to catch our ferry home, but the building is very impressive and the views from the top are beautiful.
As part of our competition prize, we got given free City Cards, which gave us free access to various museums and attractions, as well as free tram/bus transport and a free guided boat trip. If you are planning to visit more than a couple of attractions, I'd imagine these are well worth investing in - the only thing we had to pay for (other than parking!) was our food. However, children are free to most museums and attractions, so it would probably not be worthwhile purchasing City Cards for children. It must also be said that, while the tram was very handy for getting across to the other side of the city, Ghent is easily walkable - in fact, wandering around from place to place is one of the most enjoyable things you can do while in Ghent.
While there are probably a few attractions that are far nicer in the summer (the boat ride for one!), there is no more magical time to visit Ghent than at Christmas. Sadly, we arrived the weekend before the Christmas markets and festivities started, but they were setting up around us and we could see how magical it will be. With lights, stalls, rides, an ice rink and a huge big wheel, it really is the perfect Christmas destination. And now that we've discovered Ghent, it's safe to say we'll be coming back again one year when the Christmas markets are in full swing!
