Belfort
First, we visited the Belfort, an ancient medieval tower in the heart of the historic center of Ghent. The girls enjoyed walking up the turret and learning about how bells are made. A magnificent view of the historic city of Ghent from the tower. There were also some torture exhibits that we quickly bypassed.
Chocolates
The Belfort is situated in between the cathedral and the town hall. We enjoyed some chocolates from a local chocolatier while we waited for the carriage ride. In the basement of the chocolate store was a chocolate factory and the girls enjoyed watching the chocolate machines. Perhaps we should start reading Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
http://www.roalddahl.com/
Carriage Ride
After visiting the Belfort we were ready for a rest. Several horse-drawn carriages were available just outside the Belfort. We enjoyed a 45 minute carriage ride through Ghent. The tour guide provided information about Ghent in English. It was the perfect way to discover Ghent and provide an overview of the city.
Het Gravensteen Castle
Next we walked through the historic center of Ghent to the Het Gravensteen Castle. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed exploring the castle and pretending to be princesses. Again there were torture exhibits which we quickly bypassed. How do you explain a guillotine to a three and six year old? Outside of the castle walls was a giant iron spider web. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed climbing the spider web.
Architectural Boat Tour
The sun opened in the sky around 4:00pm so we decided to join an architectural boat tour of Ghent along the canal and the rivers Scheldt and Lys. The girls were tired too so a boat ride provided a nice rest before dinner and a 45 minute drive home to Brussels.
Overall a wonderful medieval city to visit. I would highly recommend the newly renovated Marriott hotel on the canal. Quite picturesque and easy walking distance to everything.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent
