Some cities sweep you off your feet immediately. Others quietly settle into your heart without you even realizing it. For us, Gent was the latter. (And yes, before anyone asks: you’ll often see it written as Ghent in English, but the locals call it Gent, the Flemish/Dutch spelling… so Gent it is 😉)
Tucked between bigger names and bucket-list destinations, Gent, Belgium became our cozy home base for a week and a half during a winter trip abroad. We had originally found ourselves in Belgium for personal reasons and, while much of our time would include appointments and day trips, Gent quickly transformed from a temporary home base into one of the most unexpectedly charming cities we’ve ever experienced.
And somehow, despite all the places we visited during that trip, it became one of the places we still talk about most.
After landing in Brussels, our very first stop (naturally) was airport coffee and Belgian waffles. Priorities.
Jet lagged, slightly overwhelmed, and trying to navigate public transportation in a brand new country for the first time, we boarded the train toward Gent with our luggage, Google Maps open, and only a vague understanding of where exactly we needed to go. If you’ve ever landed somewhere unfamiliar, you probably know the feeling: trying to quickly master ticket systems, train routes, languages, and directions while simultaneously pretending you absolutely know what you’re doing.
Unsure which stop to get off at, we asked a kind woman sitting nearby who happily pointed us in the right direction and wished us well.
The sweetest plot twist? We saw her again the next morning at breakfast. Turns out, the first person we had spoke to in Belgium worked at our hotel. It somehow felt like the warmest possible welcome to Belgium.
Our home for the week was Hotel Astoria – a cozy family-owned boutique hotel conveniently located near Gent-Sint-Pieters Station, making it the perfect jumping-off point for exploring both Gent and nearby cities. After rolling our suitcases along old cobblestone sidewalks and settling into our room, we discovered one of the hotel’s best features: a private sauna available to pre-book. Needless to say, after a long flight and travel day, we booked it immediately. There are few better feelings than warming up in a sauna after a long travel day in the middle of winter.
Gent itself felt cinematic in a way I hadn’t expected.
As a photographer – and someone deeply obsessed with architecture, history, and old buildings – I found myself endlessly inspired simply walking the streets. Towering churches, textured stone facades, winding alleyways, quiet canals, centuries of history tucked into every corner… it felt impossible to stop photographing.
While many visitors opt to bike through the city (a very common way to get around Belgium), we chose to wander on foot instead, slowly discovering the city one cobblestone street at a time.
And honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Walking gave us permission to notice everything. The details. The architecture. The quiet little moments that make a place memorable.
Gent in winter carried a kind of quiet magic. One evening after dinner, snow began softly falling around us – something surprisingly uncommon there – and suddenly the city felt like a scene from a movie. Walking through centuries-old streets dusted in snow while bundled in winter coats somehow made everything feel even more surreal.
If Paris felt cinematic, Gent felt like stepping into a storybook.
Some of our favourite memories happened in the simplest places. We quickly fell in love with Bookz & Booze – one of the most eclectic little shops imaginable, filled with books, liquor, curiosities, and treasures from around the world. Equal parts cozy, quirky, and impossible to leave empty handed, it instantly became a favourite stop.
Then there were the fries. Listen – I’ve always said potatoes are one of my main food groups, but Belgian fries? Elite. Being in the birthplace of fries felt like a personal pilgrimage. We found ourselves returning to Frites Atelier more than once, happily indulging in some of the best fries of our lives and fully embracing Belgian comfort food culture. As a self-proclaimed fry connoisseur, this felt deeply important.
And of course, there was chocolate. A lot of chocolate. One of our favourite moments became wandering Graffiti Street with warm drinks in hand from Chocolaterie Luc Van Hoorebeke – rum hot chocolate while admiring colourful murals and soaking in the atmosphere. We returned more than once for creamy Belgian chocolate treats to bring home for family… and admittedly, a bit for ourselves too. I still think about that chocolate a little too regularly.
Another unexpected obsession? Cuberdons – also lovingly called neuzekes or “little noses” – a cone-shaped purple candy native to Gent with a firm outer shell and gooey raspberry centre that somehow feels nostalgic even when you’ve never tasted one before.
Food (as usual) quickly became one of our favourite ways to experience the city.
The Crispy Crunch, a tiny family-owned hidden gem, served what may genuinely have been the best biryani I’ve ever eaten. Meanwhile Sole d’Italia became one of those quietly unforgettable restaurants we kept thinking about long after dinner was over – warm, welcoming, and serving some of the best meals of our trip.
We also fully embraced Belgian beer culture (yes, there were many Stellas involved). One of my favourite parts of travelling is noticing the little cultural differences, and I still laugh thinking about how much we loved visiting the local cinema – especially discovering you could enjoy a beer during your movie. Honestly, Belgium gets it.
Gent’s beauty also lives in its landmarks. We spent countless hours wandering places like Saint Michael’s Bridge and Korenlei, camera in hand, admiring canal reflections framed by centuries-old buildings. We explored Gravensteen Castle imagining the stories hidden inside its stone walls and visited Saint Bavo’s Cathedral where I quietly lit a candle for my grandparents – one of those small, deeply personal moments while travelling that somehow stays with you long after you’ve returned home.
Between museums, galleries, architecture, bookstores, cafés, and endless wandering, Gent slowly became less of a stop and more of a feeling. Though we ventured off for side trips to Bruges and Paris, returning to Gent each evening always felt like coming home.
Quietly romantic. Underrated. Comforting. The kind of place that reveals itself slowly.
Sometimes the destinations that stay with you most aren’t the loudest or most famous.
Sometimes they’re the places where you walked a little slower, wandered a little longer, and unexpectedly found pieces of yourself tucked into old streets and warm cafés.
Gent was that city for us. And while Paris may have been the bucket-list dream, Gent became the place we unexpectedly fell in love with.
Explore some of my favourite snapshots in the gallery below…
All photos here taken & edited by Meg Kristina Photography.
Copyright 2025 by Meg Kristina Photography. All rights reserved.
