Lille to Ghent

Yes, you can take the train to G(h)ent from Lille. You have to take a direct local train from Lille Flanders and takes just 1h 15min. Know that Gent is the Flemish / Dutch name, but announced at the railway station in French only as Gand. In Kortrijk (Flemish / Dutch) the train will be split into one part to Ghent and the other to Antwerp, so be sure being in the right railway carriage. Kortrijk is announced as Courtrai in Lille.

You can also take the Eurostar highspeed train from the nearby Lille Europe railway station, but the local train is to my opinion to prefer. The latter is cheaper and gives more flexibility about how much time you want to spend in Ghent as the ticket is valuable for the whole day. In contrary to highspeed tickets you have to book ahead for a specific time and timewise there is not much to gain btw.

Ghent is certainly worth to visit. As Lille was once part of Flanders, in general the Dutch speaking part of Belgium it has similarities in the old cobbled streets – Vieux Lille – architectural, but to some extend the vibe too. Some will promote Bruges or Antwerp, but to keep it simple with Ghent you can’t go wrong.

Thank you so much this information was helpful. Should I buy the train ticket before hand if I am unsure of what time I want to leave or wait till the day of the trip.

Note that the 7-days a week Gent Altarpiece requires advance booking. I don't know if they might have a slow time of year. While Gent is a lovely walking visit any day, some places are closed on Monday.

In this area, local trains are almost like commuter trains, no reservations are possible (but I know you are making an International trip, so it may be different.) Trains can be crowded at rush hour or school-end time. Standing is common.

Absolutely yes! We just took the train from Lille to Ghent in April. We had one quick train change. (As described by Wil)There was no direct but we went on a Sunday. We loved Ghent. It’s such a darling city. Small enough that if you only one day then you could enjoy the highlights. Get tickets for the Ghent Altarpiece.

Helpful hint. We bought in advance on the SNCF app. For some reason (probably two different countries) the tickets didn’t have a QR code or appear in the app and it said in the app that we had to go to the kiosk at the train station. We found a kiosk when we first walked into the train station courtyard. We couldn’t figure it out. Asked locals, nobody could figure it out. Finally we found an attendant. She said “oh you need to use the kiosk inside the building near your platform!” It worked!

The train to Gent is a local commuter train basically, so there is no need to buy those tickets in advance. As some have found out SNCF cannot sell electronic tickets for that route, as they somehow cannot be bothered to make their system compatible with the one used in Belgium.

So just buy the ticket at the station, and travel. Trains go every hour.
If you want an e-ticket buy it from the Belgian Railways (www.b-europe.com). The default ticket is flexible, so you are not obliged to take the train you selected during purchase, you can take other trains, as long as you stay on the same route.

The train will arrive in Ghent at Sint-Pieters railway station. Best is to take from there the tram to the city centre, the stop is a few minutes walking from the stations exit. You have to take tram 1 (Line T1) with direction Gentbrugge Stelplaats and after about 20min. get off at (Gent) Zonnestraat. From there an easy 10 minutes walk to the Sint-Niklaas church, Belfry and nearby Sint Bavo’s cathedral where the Ghent Altarpiece is. There is about every ten minutes a tram 1, so no worry if you miss one.

For going back you can take the same tram 1, but in opposite direction with direction Flanders Expo. And departs from (Gent) Zonnestraat / Handelsplein (better known as Kouter), a bit further from the other stop. At Sint-Pieters and opposite the Sint-Niklaas church you will find a "Lijnwinkel" selling and info points. However paying contactless is possible too.

https://visit.gent.be/en/good-know/practical-information/getting-around/public-transport-ghent