24/09/2022
Mary Winston Nicklin in the Washington Post:
"On each successive trip, I’ve been amazed that Ghent — just about half an hour by train from Bruges and Brussels, and about an hour from Antwerp — isn’t overrun with tourists. Most recently, I wanted to dive into Ghent’s green ethos. Beyond its cool vibe, the city has been making waves for its sustainability initiatives and eco-minded tourism strategy."
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"Ghent’s heritage is reason enough to travel here. There’s the formidable Castle of the Counts, the 15th-century Great Butchers’ Hall, the UNESCO-listed belfry lording over it all. Founded in 1235, the Beguinage of Our Lady at Hoyen — also a UNESCO site — once housed religious women in a unique, self-sustaining community. Guildhalls with ornately sculpted facades flank the quays of Graslei and Korenlei. The Museum of Fine Arts (MSK), considered Belgium’s oldest museum, is celebrating its 225th anniversary with a rich program. And back to the aforementioned Ghent Altarpiece, of which Darras says is “the one painting you have to see in your life,” a visitor center inside St. Bavo’s Cathedral brings the newly restored work to life through an augmented-reality experience that’s an immersion in the Van Eyck brothers’ world."
Ghent, Belgium, has never gotten the love of Antwerp or Bruges. Here’s why the increasingly green destination should.
