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DAY 4 / MONDAY / APRIL 18
GHENT CITY TOUR WITH LOCAL GUIDE
OVERNIGHT IN GHENT, BELGIUM
Ghent (in Flemish : Gent) is the fourth largest city of Belgium with about
250,000 inhabitants, not as big as Antwerp but bigger than Bruges.
Ghent is less famous among tourists than the often praised Bruges.
However, for some Ghent is the real diamond of Flanders and Belgium.
In a unique way, Ghent has managed to preserve its medieval power while keeping up
with the times. The city center is a showcase of medieval Flemish wealth and commercial
success.
The city has an important harbor, thanks to the Ghent-Terneuzen canal which allows
sea-going vessels to bring their products to the city.
Ghent is the home of the Rijksuniversiteit Gent (Belgian State University) and the
presence of so many young people and students has turned Ghent into an important Flemish
cultural center.
In
Saint Bavo cathedral , one can see the famous painting,
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,
attributed to Jan van Eyck of Ghent. The work is considered to be one of the
most influential and beautiful
paintings of the Middle Ages and the Flemish painting school.
DAY 5 / TUESDAY / APRIL 19
GHENT DESIGN MUSEUM
OVERNIGHT IN GHENT, BELGIUM
The Ghent Museum of Decorative Arts and Design is a treat.
The "old" museum collections mainly comprise 17th and 18th-century furnishings
displayed in the stylish interiors of the old Hotel de Coninck (built in 1755). On entering the
museum one is immersed in the world of a rich, 18th-century Ghent family.
The drawing rooms with authentic parquet floors and panelled walls and ceilings
are adorned with a wealth of period furniture.
The new extension, designed by the architect Willy Verstraete, features a superb Art Nouveau collection.
Works by prominent Belgians like Henry van de Velde, Victor Horta and Paul Hanker,
alongside foreign designers like Josef Hoffman and Otto Wagner of the Wiener Secession.
and Modernists like Le Corbusier and Gaston Eysselinck.
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