Every beer obsessive has been to Bruges. Ghent is what they find when they come back. Belgium's third-largest city sits 55 kilometres from Brussels, with a medieval centre that rivals Bruges for beauty and a bar scene that leaves it standing. Ghent is a university city with 70,000 students, a food culture serious enough to have produced several internationally recognised chefs, and a drinking scene that takes Belgium's greatest contribution to world culture — the beer — with the seriousness it deserves.
The bruin cafe tradition here is among the most intact in Belgium. These dark-wooded, unhurried brown cafes — unchanged since the 1930s in some cases — are where locals nurse Trappist ales and abbey doubles through an afternoon that drifts imperceptibly into evening. Alongside them, a new generation of craft beer bars and natural wine rooms has emerged that makes Ghent one of the most interesting drinking destinations in Northern Europe.
Ghent connects naturally with Brussels and Brussels' craft beer scene for any serious beer-focused trip. The two cities are 30 minutes apart by train, and a Brussels-Ghent-Bruges triangle, done over three nights with serious drinking at each stop, is one of the best short-break itineraries available in Europe.
The Best Bars in Ghent Right Now
The Brown Cafes of Patershol
The Patershol neighbourhood — a warren of cobbled streets and restored medieval buildings northwest of the Gravensteen castle — is Ghent's most atmospheric drinking quarter. The brown cafes here have survived modernisation largely intact, and an evening that starts at one and ends at another three or four doors down is the correct way to experience the city's drinking culture. No reservations, no cocktail menus, no Instagram moments. Just Trappist beer and the particular warmth of a Belgian bar in November.
"Ghent's bar scene has everything Brussels has, in a city a quarter of the size, with students who take their beer seriously and brown cafes that haven't changed since the 1950s. It is the best beer city in Belgium that nobody talks about."
Craft Beer in Ghent
Ghent's craft beer scene has grown considerably since 2015. The city now has 8 dedicated craft beer bars within the medieval ring, plus a handful of bars that carry serious craft selections alongside their Trappist and abbey lists. The Belgian craft beer movement differs from its American and British counterparts: the tradition here is long, the ingredients native, and the brewers tend to work in styles that already exist rather than inventing new ones.
Natural Wine and Cocktails
Ghent's natural wine scene has emerged over the past six years and is now genuinely worth seeking out. Several bars in the Overpoortstraat student strip and the Vrijdagmarkt area have built lists focused on small Belgian and Dutch producers alongside a selection of Loire, Jura, and Burgundy natural wines. The quality is consistent and the prices significantly lower than equivalent bars in Brussels or Amsterdam.
When to Visit and Getting Around
Ghent is at its best in the cooler months — October through March — when the brown cafes become exactly as warm and amber-lit as they should be. The Ghent Jazz Festival in July is the exception: 10 days of free outdoor concerts across the city centre, with bars extending their terraces and the whole medieval core becoming an outdoor venue. The city is entirely walkable and cycling-friendly; a hotel near Patershol puts everything within 15 minutes on foot.
For a broader picture of Belgian drinking culture, our Brussels craft beer guide covers the capital scene in detail. For a European-wide view of the best cities for craft beer globally, Belgium takes multiple slots — and Ghent increasingly deserves its own entry alongside Brussels and Bruges.
