Visit to Ghent over Christmas

An idea closer to London- Edinburg has a great New Year's Eve Celebration. Have a great time.

The "Holidays" covers everything from Christmas Eve to Epiphany on Jan 6. Will you be in Ghent on Christmas day, or after?

We'll be in London for maybe 4 days (12/19-23), then on to the next location, hopefully Ghent, from roughly 12/23-12/26 or 27.

We thought about Edinburgh, but that sounded like a really cold location for end of Dec! Am I wrong?

Edinburgh and Ghent can both be cold. I was in Ghent as a day trip from Bruges in early December 2023 and it was so cold I bought a warmer scarf at a Christmas market. My friend did the same. Weather is unpredictable.

But the fact of it being cold in Belgium in December is pretty much a given !

We (parents and two teens) stayed at Place2stay in June. Two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room, very clean, and a good location. I think they have several different aparthotel setups. But no front desk or elevator and they sent an email with the link to pay by credit card. I would stay there again.

If you are thinking of Ghent as a four-day base, then the distance and/or transit coverage of the hotel-train station is important. St. Bavo's is normally a 7-days a week attraction, but I don't know about the rest of the place on Christmas. On Mondays, Ghent is pretty dead. (Have been there.) Check whether both train stations are back open. Any way to research church or other holiday music performances?

Gent is physically attractive, and busy. But maybe you want to be ready for train days to places that are also pretty when some things are closed, like Mechelen, Leuven, Lier, and maybe Turnhout. But they are smaller cities. I saw that you have already been to Antwerp, but that's a very rich target. Do you have more to see there?

Ghent works fine as a 4-day base over the holidays. The Gentse Winterfeesten (Christmas market) runs Dec 3, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027, spread from Sint-Baafsplein along Korenmarkt, open until midnight most nights. Christmas Day and NYE have shortened hours (afternoon/early evening only), so don't plan a big market outing that morning.

Beyond the market: ice rink under the Stadshal, a "Winter Wonderland" at Gravensteen castle, and nice light displays around the historic core after dark. St. Bavo's is normally open daily, so you should still catch the Ghent Altarpiece just confirm hours closer to your dates since some sites trim hours on the 25th.

One tip: Mondays are quiet in Ghent (many museums closed), so if one of your days falls on a Monday, make that your day-trip day instead. Also worth checking that both train stations run normal holiday schedules on the 25th/26th. Mechelen and Leuven are both under an hour away and good options if you want a day out.

Hotel Harmony is a solid pick, also worth considering the Ghent Marriott (canal-front, family-friendly) or an aparthotel like Place2Stay if you'd rather have a kitchen and separate bedrooms for four people over four nights.

Hope you have a wonderful trip, enjoy Ghent!

Thank you all for the replies and suggestions. It's helpful to hear from those who have direct experience. The apartment is booked, but I'll keep looking at other options. Seems we need to jump on making Christmas dinner reservations quickly too, so we've got some decisions to make!

I presume you will take Eurostar from London to Brussels and then local train to Gent?

You might want to start tying things down travel wise as well as hotels and Christmas dinners.

Because Christmas is on Friday this year a lot of Brits will be leaving on holidays by midweek - those who didn't get away the prior weekend. Eurostar tickets for the day before Christmas Eve (the 23rd, your plan) will soon become like hens teeth.

Will you return to London to fly home, or will you fly home from Brussels.

I agree with the above about the Harmony and the Marriott. Which have rooms you can afford on the dates you want?

I have really enjoyed my several stays at the Harmony.

Sounds fantastic! Ghent has approximately one hour more of daylight than Edinburgh, believe me it makes a difference! I live in a dark northern country. Yes, it will be cold, and a wet cold feels colder, especially on the feet. I wear hiking boots & wool socks in winter travel.

This blog about a Ghent visit might interest you - https://michelledamiani.com/around-the-world/ignore-the-guidebooks-choose-ghent

Ghent sounds wonderful! I have just read the link provided. The writer describes well my favorite travels. I have a week to explore new places after a river cruise ends in Amsterdam nxt August. We have experienced Amsterdam so need to explore other places. Have also loved Haarlem, Leiden…Also Bruges. More suggestions?

In Belgium ... Ghent, Ypres/Ieper, the Belgian coast, Antwerp, Brussels, Dinant, Namur, Spa ... I could keep going. In short there is a lot in Belgium which is not overly touristed (excepting of course Bruges). Check it out!

Lavandula

A continued thanks for the additional recommendations. I really appreciate this Forum for exactly this kind of info. We've booked our stay at the Ganda Rooms & Suites, which sounds lovely, and I'm working to book our holiday dinner (thanks to the tip on doing that now) using the Visit Gent site.

Our plans continue to evolve, and we'd now like to add a stop further south in Belgium for a couple of nights following the Ghent stay. We ultimately need to end up in Luxembourg for our flight home, so we're exploring options that get us partway there. We'll have already explored Luxembourg City on our way in. I've seen several towns mentioned, but if any of you experts have somewhere you particularly recommend that might have a different feel from Ghent, or somewhere with a 'gotta see it' stop, I welcome your comments. Thanks again.

If you're on the way to Luxembourg, I'd suggest Dinant. Completely different architecture to the Flemish cities, with a citadel atop a dramatic cliff, and a church with an onion-shaped dome. Good for a river cruise. Dinant is only small but I think you could happily spend half a day there. The local specialty is Couque de Dinant, which is a biscuit harder than a ginger nut, baked in interesting moulds. Nearby is the Castle of Freÿr, and there is kayaking from Houyet to Anseremme, if you wanted to make it a longer day (budget minimum 5-6 hours for the kayaking). Dinant is the gateway to the Ardennes, and you will need a car for this area. There is much pleasure in navigating its hilly, forested landscape, and many small picturesque towns (Han-sur-Lesse, La Roche en Ardenne, St.-Hubert).

EDIT: I would also recommend a car not just because the Ardennes is poorly serviced by rail, but also because getting to Luxembourg by car is much faster than by train (otherwise 3 hours from Brussels when it is not really that far).

Lavandula