travel to Ghent

I am thinking of having a 3 night stay in Ghent in July. Which is the best way of getting to Ghent? We will use Eurostar but don%26#39;t know which is easier - changing at Lille or Brussels. (or some other station?)

Having recently read (on Trip Advisor) some woeful reports of the dangers at Brussels Midi I am not sure about going there, although we never encountered any in February this year.

Your advice is much appreciated.

|||

It depends what you mean by %26quot;easier%26quot;, but if you change in Lille a) you have to change stations from Lille-Europe to Lille-Flandres (not far away) and b) you will usually have to change again at Kortrijk. Although it will take you about 3 hours (London to Ghent) in both cases, slightly less via Brussels and slightly more via Lille.

I would suggest you put your date and time of departure into http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en and see what connections it gives you, entering London and Gent-St. Pieters.

|||

as i keep saying brussels midi/zuid is not dangerous - may not be the most pleasant place on earth but...

your eurostar tix include onward travel to ghent if you go to brussels but not if you go to lille

i think it%26#39;s much easier to go to brussels - no change of station as at lille and at least 3 trains an hour from brussels

|||

Hi,

I would change in Brussels. Brussels-Midi is not such a nice train station, but as long as you stay in the station itself everything is fine... off course you need to watch out like you have to in every place where a lot of people are around !

Changing at Brussels-Midi is much easier why in Lille you have to change station.

And from Brussels you have a train to Ghent about every 1/2 hour !

Have a nice stay in Ghent ... be aware that there are %26#39;Gentse Feesten%26#39; from the 17th until the 27th of July : party and concerts all over town, but difficult to find a hotel room then !

Kathy

|||

Hi,

Sorry but Kathy has made a mistake about the period of the %26quot;Gentse Feesten%26quot; (Ghent Festivities), they are from 19th until 28th of July.

The Ghent Floralies exist this year 200 years and there will be a historic parade in the city centre on 21th of September. It%26#39;s still a while but it will be something unique and a must to see.

If you want more information about Ghent (history, monuments, events, publications, etc) you can find it on www.visitgent.be. It%26#39;s also in English.

Have a nice time in Ghent!

|||

Bruxelles Midi / Brussel Zuid is not dodgy at all, they wouldn%26#39;t exactly house Eurostar and Thalys there if everyone got mugged .....

As people have said , via Brussels will be cheapest , quickest and easiest (about 35 min train ride to Gent). In Lille you%26#39;d have to change trainstations and the train from Lille to Gent is a slow one , takes over an hour.

|||

Change at Brussels-Midi because (a) you can use your Eurostar ticket to get there for free (b) you have to traipse from Lille-Europe down the road to Lille-Flandres and (c) you%26#39;ll have to queue up for ages to buy a ticket at Lille-Flandres. Brussels-Midi is not dangerous so long as you keep your wits about you - stick all your valuables in your case, you%26#39;re only changing platforms so you won%26#39;t need them (obviously on the return journey only get your passport out once you get in the Eurostar departure hall). The Gent trains usually depart from round about platform 15 - look for trains whose destination is Ostend or Blankenberg/Knokke-Heist on the departure boards, they always stop at Gent. Check on the sncf-be website to check on train times.

Oh and when you%26#39;re booking on Eurostar, depending on the gap between connections, make sure you%26#39;re booked in coach 17 or 18 as they%26#39;ll be nearest the exit at Brussels-Midi - invaluable if you%26#39;re getting the 8.05 out of St Pancras and wanting the 11.05 to Gent out of Brussels!

|||

ReuzeEmma - excellent advice. Thank you. Thanks also to everyone who has replied. Changing at Brussels it is then.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 1:25 am, October 01, 2009