Why this ride
98 km from Gent to Gent, about 1 h 37 of riding. On the way it passes Béguinage de Bruges, Historic Centre of Brugge, Belfort en Hallen and back through Historic Centre of Brugge.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ghent day out · Belfort en Hallen
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 98 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 37
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ghent
Ghent likes to think of itself as the city that Bruges forgot to be. It is a large, lively, slightly rebellious town at the meeting of the Leie and the Scheldt, and for centuries it was one of the biggest cities north of the Alps, a textile power whose weavers and guilds fought dukes and counts. The memory of that stubbornness lingers. Locals are known as the noose-bearers, after a day in 1540 when citizens were made to parade in nooses to atone for rebelling against Emperor Charles V, who was born in the town.
Read the complete Ghent write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ghent is where the day begins. Next is Béguinage de Bruges.
2. Béguinage de Bruges
The Princely Beguinage of Bruges, Ten Wijngaerde, is the sort of place that makes people lower their voices without being asked. White-washed houses surround a grassy courtyard planted with old trees, and in spring thousands of daffodils bloom under them. A beguinage was a community where lay women lived a religious life without taking full vows, and Flanders had many of them from the thirteenth century. This one was founded around 1245 under Margaret of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders, and the UNESCO listing of Flemish Beguinages covers it, along with Diest and others.
Read the complete Béguinage de Bruges write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Bruges comes up 13 km in. Next is Historic Centre of Brugge.
3. Historic Centre of Brugge
Bruges was once one of the richest cities in northern Europe, a trading hub where merchants from Italy, Germany, England and Spain bought and sold wool, cloth, spices and luxury goods. Its wealth came from its access to the sea through an inlet called the Zwin, and when that silted up in the fifteenth century, trade moved to Antwerp and Bruges slowly fell asleep. For centuries it was a quiet, poor town, and that is why its medieval centre survived almost intact. In the nineteenth century, writers and painters rediscovered it, and Georges Rodenbach's novel Bruges-la-Morte made it famous as a melancholy city of canals and bells. The historic centre was listed by UNESCO in 2000.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Brugge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 39 km in you reach Historic Centre of Brugge. Next is Historic Centre of Brugge.
4. Historic Centre of Brugge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Brugge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Centre of Brugge, about halfway. Next is Belfort en Hallen.
5. Belfort en Hallen
Bruges grew rich in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as a cloth and trading port, and the belfry on its market square is the proudest sign of that wealth. Rising about eighty-three metres above the Markt, with an octagonal upper stage, few towers in Belgium are better known. The Hallen, the old market halls at its base, once held the town's cloth trade, and the belfry stored the town's charters and its bells, so that merchants and citizens could be called together and warned of fire or attack. It is also a part of the group of belfries of Belgium and France on the World Heritage list.
Read the complete Belfort en Hallen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Belfort en Hallen sits at 54 km, about halfway. Next is back through Historic Centre of Brugge.
6. back through Historic Centre of Brugge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Brugge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Historic Centre of Brugge comes up 67 km in.
7. back through Historic Centre of Brugge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Brugge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
80 km in you reach back through Historic Centre of Brugge. Next is back through Béguinage de Bruges.
8. back through Béguinage de Bruges
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Bruges write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Béguinage de Bruges, late in the day. Next is Ghent.
9. Ghent
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ghent write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 98 km.
Leg by leg
Ghent to Béguinage de Bruges
Ghent → Béguinage de Bruges is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Bruges to Ghent
back through Béguinage de Bruges → Ghent is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.