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Ghent



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For a medium size city, Ghent has a booming night life. There's a lot to be done at night, whether you like to go to the movies, enjoy a play, attend a concert, go to a club or just have a night out with friends at a fancy jazz bar;

  • Overpoortstraat and Sint-Pieters Square: this is the students' quarters. The street and square are packed with some trendy bars, all with their own style: from Latin to techno, over metal to pop. A lot of student organisations hold their weekly club nights here, and because they're all on a low budget, the bars tend to be very reasonably priced. The best nights in the students' quarter are on Thursdays and Fridays.
  • City centre: On weekends the city centre is where you want to be. The bars on Korenmarkt Square and Klein Turkije are packed to capacity on Friday and Saturday evenings. A lot of people from the city itself come to party here after a week full of stress. Again you will find a great diversity in style and types of music. And if you are not into loud music, there's always the little bars with live jazz or soul music.
  • If you like big clubs, the docks district is where you want to be. There are two big clubs with a nice blend of popular electronic music with R&B and hip-hop. And since there aren't any houses around, there will be no angry neighbours to spoil the fun.
  • For a cool urban party or a concert or play, the Zuid quarters is the place to be. With two theatres and a big concert hall around, there's always something to look forward to. And if you don't feel like going straight home after the play, you're only a five minute's walk away from city centre and the students' quarter.
  • There's also Flanders Expo, a big event hall on the outskirts of the city, accommodating a lot of big parties and events throughout the year.

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Economy

The port of Ghent, in the north of the city, is the third largest port of Belgium. It is accessed by the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, which ends near the Dutch port of Terneuzen on the Western Scheldt. The port houses, among others, big companies like Sidmar, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Parts, Honda, and Stora Enso.

The Ghent University and a number of research oriented companies are situated in the central and southern part of the city.

As the biggest city of East-Flanders, Ghent has many hospitals, schools and shopping streets.

Tourism is increasingly becoming a major employer in the local area.

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Transport

As one of the largest cities in Belgium, Ghent has a highly developed transportation system.

  • In addition Ghent also has two ringways:
    • The R4: connects the outskirts of Ghent with each other and the surrounding villages, and also leads to the E40 and E17 roads.
    • The R40: connects the different downtown quarters with each other, and provides access to the main avenues.
  • To municipality of Ghent comprises five train stations:
    • Gent-Sint-Pieters Station: an international train station with connections to Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp, Kortrijk, other Belgian towns and Lille. The station also offers a direct connection to Brussels Airport.
    • Gent-Dampoort Station: an intercity train station with connections to Sint-Niklaas, Antwerp, Kortrijk and Eeklo.
    • Gentbrugge Station: a regional train station in between the two main train stations, Sint-Pieters and Dampoort.
    • Wondelgem Station: a regional train station with connections to Eeklo once an hour.
    • Drongen Station: a regional train station in the village of Drongen with only a limited number of trains a day.
  • Ghent has an extensive web of public transport lines, operated by De Lijn:
    • Tram (see pictures below):
      • Line 1: Flanders Expo - Sint-Pieters-Station - Korenmarkt (City Center) - Evergem
      • Line 4: Sint-Pieters-Station - Muide - Korenmarkt (City Center) - Zuid - Moscou
      • Line 21: Zwijnaardebrug - UZ - Sint-Pieters-Station - Zonnestraat (City Center) - Zuid - Melle Leeuw
      • Line 22: Zwijnaardebrug - UZ - Sint-Pieters-Station - Zonnestraat (City Center) - Zuid - Gentbrugge
    • Trolleybus (unique in Belgium; see picture below):
      • Line 3: Mariakerke - Korenmarkt (City Center) - Dampoort-Station - Gentbrugge
    • City buses (see picture below):
      • Line 5: Van Beverenplein - Sint-Jacobs (City Center) - Zuid - UZ - Zwijnaarde
      • Line 6: Watersportbaan - Zuid - Dampoort-Station - Wondelgem - Mariakerke
      • Line 9: Mariakerke - Malem - Sint-Pieters-Station - Gentbrugge
      • Line 17/18: Drongen - Korenmarkt (City Center) - Dampoort-Station - Oostakker
      • Line 38/39: Blaarmeersen - Korenmarkt (City Center) - Dampoort-Station - Sint-Amandsberg
    • At Sint-Pieters-Station and the Zuid bus station there are several regional buses as well.

When arriving in Ghent, it is best to leave cars in Park & Ride zones next to the road. The actual city centre is a car free area, and parking is difficult and expensive in the city. On weekends, free night buses provide transportation through the night.

Tram vehicle (type: PCC streetcar)

Low floor tram vehicle (type: HermeLijn)

Trolleybus

Regional bus

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Famous people

Emperor Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500
Emperor Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500
Statue of Jacob van Artevelde on the Friday market in Ghent
Statue of Jacob van Artevelde on the Friday market in Ghent

See also: Notable people from Ghent

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Sister Cities

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See also

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

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References

  1. ^ a b History of Ghent. www.gent.be. Retrieved on 2006-05-05.
v • d • e
Municipalities in the Province of East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium
Aalst
Dendermonde
Eeklo
Ghent
Oudenaarde
Sint-Niklaas




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