The Great Béguinage of Sint-Amandsberg looks like a small walled town of its own, tucked into a residential suburb just east of the centre of Ghent. When the city expanded in the 1870s and the old béguinage of St Elisabeth was in the way, the beguines, lay religious women who lived in community without taking permanent vows, moved here to a new complex of neo-Gothic houses, convents and a church, all laid out around streets, squares and gardens behind a wall and gate. The move was funded by the Duke of Arenberg, and the whole place was finished in just a few years. It is one of the thirteen Flemish Béguinages on the UNESCO list since 1998, and although the beguines are gone, the houses are still lived in, and the atmosphere is calm and quiet.
Ghent itself is one of the most beautiful cities in Belgium, and less touristy than Bruges. Its medieval centre is full of gabled houses, canals, bridges and churches, and the Gravensteen, a castle in the middle of the city, looks like something out of a storybook. St Bavo's Cathedral holds the Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eyck brothers, one of the most important paintings in the world. The city is lively, with a big student population, plenty of bars and a famous summer festival.
Riding into Ghent requires some care. The city centre has a strict traffic plan, with zones that cars and motorcycles cannot cross directly, and much of the centre is pedestrianised or restricted. There are cobbles, trams and lots of cyclists. It is best to park outside the centre and explore on foot. For riding, the countryside around Ghent is flat, with quiet lanes along the Leie and Scheldt rivers, through villages and past castles.
Ghent has everything, including fuel on the ring roads. Try Gentse waterzooi, a creamy stew of chicken or fish with vegetables, or stoverij, beef stewed in beer. Cuberdons, cone-shaped purple sweets with a syrupy centre, are a local speciality, often sold from carts in the market. Ghent mustard, sold by weight from a shop near the Vrijdagmarkt, is a good souvenir.