Ghent with kids wasn’t originally on our radar, but after spending a long weekend there as a family in mid-January, it quickly proved itself to be an easy and rewarding city to explore. I’d visited Brussels and Bruges before, yet Ghent felt different from the moment we arrived. It was calm without being quiet, compact without feeling small, and full of everyday life unfolding alongside its medieval streets and canals. Over two relaxed days, we explored at our own pace and found Ghent unexpectedly well suited to travelling with children.
Getting to Ghent with kids from Paris
For us, getting to Ghent with kids was easier than expected. Living in Paris, we enjoy quick train connections, which made our long weekend feel unhurried. There’s no direct service, but the connection via Brussels Midi is straightforward: the fastest Eurostar takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes from Paris to Brussels, followed by a 30-minute local train to Ghent from the same station, making the total journey just over two hours door to door.
Where we stayed in Ghent: Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel
We checked into Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel, set discreetly within Ghent’s historic centre. It was honestly the perfect base for a weekend in Ghent with kids. The contrast is part of the appeal: you’re staying in a medieval city, but the hotel itself is modern, elegant, and calm.
Officially a four-star property, it feels closer to five. We booked two rooms — one for us, one for the kids — both generously sized and thoughtfully designed. The children were immediately charmed by the child-sized slippers, colouring books, and rubber duck waiting in the bathroom. It was a small gesture, but one that made it clear families are not an afterthought here. The hotel’s spa includes a small indoor pool, sauna rooms, and treatment spaces. Children are allowed in the pool until 9:30am, so we took advantage of this one morning before breakfast.
Breakfast was excellent, with high-quality produce and a generous spread. The hotel is also home to two restaurants. On our first night, we booked a table at the fine dining LOF restaurant, headed by Chef Paul de Groote who worked alongside 3 Michelin star chef Jannis Brevet for more than 20 years.
It’s refined, expensive, and clearly not designed with families in mind, yet the staff were entirely unfazed by the presence of children. The kids ordered from the children’s menu while we enjoyed a beautifully paced meal that flirted with Michelin-star territory: polished but relaxed, with amuse-bouches appearing between courses. There was no sense of needing to rush, which is always the true test when dining out with kids. There’s also a more bistro-style restaurant on site, which looked far more family-friendly if fine dining isn’t on the agenda.
Saturday in Ghent: History, Canals, and Chocolate
St Bavo’s Cathedral and the Mystic Lamb Augmented Reality Experience
We began Saturday with a walk to St Bavo’s Cathedral, less than ten minutes from the hotel. As the most important monument in Ghent, we couldn’t miss it. It’s home to one of the world’s most significant paintings and sits at the very heart of the city’s history.
St Bavo’s Cathedral has stood at the spiritual and civic heart of Ghent for centuries. Its origins date back to the 10th century as a modest church, and over time it was rebuilt and expanded, incorporating Romanesque foundations and soaring Gothic architecture. Later centuries added Baroque and neo-Gothic elements, giving the cathedral a layered, living-history feel. It has long been a symbol of Ghent’s wealth and influence, reflecting the city’s position as a major medieval trading hub.
At the centre of the cathedral’s fame is The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a polyptych completed in 1432 by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Widely considered one of the most important paintings in Western art, the altarpiece showcases revolutionary use of oil paint, bringing unprecedented detail and luminosity to every scene. Van Eyck’s meticulous attention to light, texture, and human expression transformed religious art, making figures feel individual and real rather than symbolic.
The painting’s history is almost as remarkable as its technique. Over the centuries, people moved, hid, and stole the panels multiple times. During the French Revolution, authorities seized the altarpiece but later returned it. In World War II, the Nazis confiscated it and stored it in an Austrian salt mine to protect it from destruction and looting. Despite this turbulent history, all panels survive today and are on display in the cathedral, restored to their full grandeur.
Before seeing the altarpiece in person, we booked this Augmented Reality (“AR”) experience that explains its story in a way that’s surprisingly accessible, even for children. Wearing the headsets, we explored the painting’s symbolism, technical brilliance, and dramatic history. By the time we removed the AR glasses and stood before the original, it no longer felt distant or abstract. I highly recommend booking the AR experience before your visit. It was one of the highlights of our entire visit to Ghent.
Canals and Gent Watertoerist Boat Tour
From there, we headed to the canals for a Gent Watertoerist boat cruise. The 50-minute ride in a small open-air boat was one of the most relaxing parts of the weekend. The guide shared interesting information as we floated past Gravensteen Castle, the elegant guild houses of Graslei, and rows of colourful historic buildings. For kids, being on the water breaks up the walking nicely. For parents, it’s a chance to sit down and take it all in.
Werregarenstraatje Graffiti Street and Chocolate Shops
Back on land, we sought out Werregarenstraatje, Ghent’s ever-changing graffiti street. This narrow alley is a legal street-art zone, meaning the walls are constantly repainted. One visit will never look the same as the next. Kids love spotting characters, colours, and hidden details, and it’s a refreshing contrast to the medieval architecture elsewhere in the city.
There’s a great artisan chocolate shop on the street, The Chocolate Maker. We stopped for coffee and picked up a few treats, always a good morale booster when travelling with kids.
After the canal cruise, everyone was craving something warm, so we headed to Soup’r for lunch. It’s casual, quick, and ideal with kids: generous soups, fresh bread, salads, and indoor seating.
Gravensteen Castle and Waffles
In the afternoon, we made our way to Gravensteen Castle, Ghent’s most imposing medieval fortress. Even from the outside, it dominates the cityscape, a reminder that Ghent was once a powerful, independent city-state. Built in the late 12th century by Count Philip of Alsace, Gravensteen (literally “Castle of the Counts”) was both a residence and a symbol of authority. Its purpose was clear: to assert the count’s power over the city and defend against rivals and rebels.
Walking around the castle, you immediately notice the thick stone walls and towers. Inside, it’s a mix of preserved rooms, reconstructed interiors, and exhibits about medieval life. The castle also houses a collection of torture devices and arms, which might be slightly macabre for younger children but fascinate older kids and adults alike.
We didn’t go inside the full interior this time, but even walking around the outer walls gives a striking sense of scale and history. If you explore the interior, others highly recommend the audio guide. Without it, the castle’s story and context can get lost among the towers and staircases.
We then did what Ghent does best: wandered. Getting lost in side streets, popping into small shops, many of them selling chocolate. While Neuhaus is the most famous Belgian chocolatier with a store in Ghent, we enjoyed discovering smaller producers experimenting with unusual shapes and flavours.
Of course, we couldn’t resist waffles. We discovered two main types: Liège waffles, small, dense, and very sweet, perfect on their own, and Brussels waffles, larger and less sweet, relying on toppings for indulgence. We ordered both for a necessary taste test. Along the way, we also came across cuberdons, the classic cone-shaped fruity candies sold at little street stalls. These sweet, marmalade-like treats are a very traditional local specialty, even if a bit too sugary for our liking.
Dinner was at Maison Elza, which is hard to describe in the best possible way. It’s eclectic, sparkly, and a little theatrical. The food is local, the service is easy going, and kids are genuinely welcome.
After dinner, we walked towards the canals to see the city lit up at night. Ghent’s monuments reflected in the water are quietly beautiful — a calm, magical end to the day.
Sunday in Ghent: Dragons, Towers, and Markets
Ghent Belfry Treasure Hunt
After another generous hotel breakfast, we headed to the Ghent Belfry, one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Rising above the historic centre between St Bavo’s Cathedral and St Nicholas’ Church, the belfry has stood as a symbol of Ghent’s prosperity, civic pride and independence since the 14th century. Construction of the tower began in 1313, and it was completed by around 1380, with the iconic gilded dragon placed at the top in 1377 as a guardian figure watching over the city.
Before the visit we picked up a treasure hunt booklet for kids, The Locksmith Game, which made the visit interactive and engaging. Armed with clues and fun facts, the children searched for the dragon’s egg hidden throughout the tower. Along the way they learned about the role of watchmen, the carillon bells, and how the belfry once helped shape daily life in Ghent. At the end, a small dragon pin awaited as a reward for kids.
Visitors climb the Belfry on their own, taking stairs and a lift from the first floor. A practical note: some staircases are very narrow, so while older children handle it well, it’s less ideal with toddlers. Once you reach the top, Ghent’s rooftops, canals, and spires spread out in a great panorama.
Sunday Book Market on Ajuinlei
Ghent has a rich weekly market culture, and Sunday mornings are especially vibrant. Locals head out for everything from flowers at the Kouter to antiques and crafts at spots like Bij Sint‑Jacobs, but the one that caught us completely by surprise was right along the canal on Ajuinlei. This Sunday book market stretches alongside the water, with stalls piled high with second‑hand books of every stripe. There were tall stacks of children’s titles (perfect for whiling away an afternoon in a hotel room), well‑worn classics, guidebooks from bygone travels, and quite a few English‑language finds.
Lunch was at Frites Atelier, where fries are taken very seriously. Run by a three-Michelin-star chef, it serves gourmet toppings and is a fun stop if your kids are enthusiastic about fries. After lunch, we returned to the hotel, collected our bags, and took a taxi to the station. By mid-afternoon, we were back on the train to Paris.
Thoughts on Ghent
Looking back, we really loved Ghent. Two days felt just right for a long weekend — enough time to wander the canals, explore the historic streets, and soak in the city’s atmosphere without feeling rushed. Like any European city, visiting off-season made it more relaxed, with fewer crowds and space to enjoy the highlights at our own pace. Next time, we’d love to try the rental bikes at our hotel; Ghent is incredibly easy to cycle around and it would have added a new perspective to our canal strolls. Everywhere we went, we found plenty of child-friendly places to eat, from casual soups to gourmet fries, with chocolate shops and waffle stands perfect for quick snack stops. All in all, our weekend in Ghent with kids felt effortless, full of history, culture, and just the right amount of sweet indulgence.
If you’ve been to Ghent, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.
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