Ghent - In Your Pocket

6 arrival & transport
By plane
Ghent does not have its own airport, but getting
to the city from Belgium’s major airports is quite
straightforward.
The country’s largest flight hub, Brussels Airport (Zaventem),
is about an hour away from Ghent. Those taking
budget carriers like Ryanair and Wizz to Belgium will land
at Brussels Charleroi Airport, 50km outside of Brussels
proper.
Antwerp Airport only handles a few charter flights,
but if you happen to arrive here, take bus 14 to Antwerp
Central station and hop on a train there. The trip to Ghent
will take about 1.5 hours.
Flights to Ostend-Bruges Airport are also limited to a
few charters. From here, bus 5 and 6 run to Ostend railway
station, from where trains to Ghent are leaving three times
an hour.
By train
Ghent has two railway stations: Sint-Pieters and
Dampoort.
Most trains arrive at Ghent Sint-Pieters (A-6). A tunnel
connects the twelve platforms with the central hall. Entering
the central hall from the tunnel, the ticket office (open
05:45 - 22:00, Sat and Sun 06:00 - 22:00) is located on
the left side. There are three ATMs in the central hall,
several kiosks, some coffee shops and a photo booth.
The toilets are located on the path towards the western
exit and these cost €0.50. You can change currency
at the Europa Bank (open 09:30 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00,
Thu 09:30 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 18:30, closed Sat, Sun), which
is also located towards the western exit. Lockers for luggage
storage are opposite the bank. A small locker costs
€3.00, a medium one €3.50 and a large locker €4.00, all
for a 24 hour period. If have such a large suitcase there
is also a manual luggage storage. For €4.00, the man
behind the counter in the lost and found office (open
06:15 - 21:30) will happily take care of your belongings.
This is also for a 24 hour period and you can find the lost
and found opposite the ticket office.
Getting to town: From Sint-Pieters station, tram 1
is the quickest option to the centre. When you exit the
station, the tram stop is on the left side. Wait at platform
2 and hop on a tram directed at Evergem. You could buy
tickets for buses and trams from the driver, these cost
€2. If you buy a ticket in advance, it costs €1.20. In case
you prefer taking a taxi, both railway stations have a row
of taxis lined up in front of the station entrances.
Ghent-Dampoort station (D-2): All trains coming
from and going to Antwerp stop at Dampoort. This small
station is closer to the city centre and usually more convenient
if you are travelling to or from Antwerp. The ticket
office (open 05:45 - 20:00, Sat and Sun 06:00 - 20:30)
is located inside the waiting room, where you will also find
lockers for luggage storage. Beware that the waiting room
closes at 20:30 and you cannot get access to the lockers
after that time. Just outside the main entrance is an ATM.
After 22:00 you have to enter the station through the side
entrance next to the parking area.
Getting to town: The walk from Dampoort station
to the city centre takes about 15 minutes, but you could
also take bus 3, 38 or 39. These buses all leave from
platform 1 on the opposite side of the road next to the
railway bridge.
Waiting for the boats on Korenlei, photo by Reine Ortiz
Brussels Airport Leopoldlaan, Zaventem, tel. (+32)
275 37 753, www.brusselsairport.be. Next to a village
called Zaventem, 12 kilometres from central Brussels, lies
Belgium’s prime international airport. Taking a taxi to central
Brussels will cost about €45. A cheaper option is to make the
15 minute train ride to Brussels Central station, from where
you can change trains to nearly every corner of the country.
The railway station at the airport is at level -1. There are two
direct trains leaving Brussels Airport for Ghent: the IR-train
(final destination De Panne) is the quickest and takes 55
minutes to complete the journey to Ghent. The other direct
train, (final destination Ghent Sint-Pieters) is much slower
due to the many stops on the way. You can also take any
train from the airport to Brussels North railway station and
change there. A ticket from Brussels Airport to Ghent costs
€11.80. GW
Brussels Charleroi Airport rue des Frères Wright
8, Charleroi, tel. (+32) 902 02 490, www.charleroiairport.com.
After collecting your luggage you have
essentially two options for travel to Ghent: take a shuttle
bus to Brussels Midi and catch a train to Ghent Sint Pieters
from there, or take bus A to Charleroi railway station.
The Brussels City Shuttle can be found directly outside
the terminal, leaves every 30 minutes and the €13 ticket
can be purchased online in advance, from the driver, or
via one of the streetside vending machines. Those opting
for Charleroi’s train station will have to change trains at
Brussels Midi.
Buses
Although Ghent lacks a central bus station, nearly every
part of the city can be reached by bus. Most towns in
the surrounding area are connected to Ghent by bus as
well. The main hubs in the city’s bus network are at Zuid
(Graaf van Vlaanderenplein), Sint-Pieters station and
Dampoort station. Regular buses run from 06:00 until
23:00.
Ghent In Your Pocket ghent.inyourpocket.com