The next two weeks could be the best time to visit the Belgian city of Ghent, home of the world’s most targeted work of art and many heated debates about its merits as a destination over Bruges.
This Friday (18 July 2014) marks the start of the annual Gentse Feesten, and for ten days the city becomes one of the most fun places to be in Europe. With dance performances, rock, jazz and world music gigs, flea markets, carnivals, street food stands, pop-up galleries, buskers, comedies and parties around the clock, there is no shortage of entertainment wherever you look.
There is a flip side, of course. Accommodation in the city is hard to come by, in which case commuting from Brussels becomes an option (it takes just 30 to 45 minutes). A man with a thick Flemish accent takes over the tram announcements, which is cool once you get over the change. The streets are filled with revellers from Belgium and abroad; they, the tents and the stages get in the way of the perfect photographs of sights like Korenmarkt and Graslei. There is a performance of some sort or another everywhere you look.
On both weekends of the festival, the crowds easily rival those in Bruges, but there is a difference. It’s a living, fully functioning city with tram tracks, power lines, incongruous contemporary features in mediaeval buildings, and people enjoying the festivities rather than gawking and taking photographs of things. The students keep it lively, the locals are quite rightly proud of their city and culture, and their joie de vivre is infectious.
[Update] Anglo Italian were at the 2014 edition – take a look at their photos here.
30/08/2014 @ 3:43 AM
Nicholas, you had a pretty awesome experience at Ghent Festival too
04/10/2014 @ 10:24 PM
I enjoyed myself immensely so I’d like to believe that too. Thanks Franca!