# Roots Earth in Ghent: audio stories about 42 places Canonical: https://rootsearth.com/cities/ghent Published: 16 September 2026 Roots Earth has audio stories about 42 places in Ghent, Belgium, in Europe. The Ghent stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Ghent, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people. The 42 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026. ## The 42 places in Ghent with audio stories In the order the app shows them. 1. St Bavo's Cathedral 2. The Ghent Altarpiece (Adoration of the Mystic Lamb) 3. Belfry of Ghent 4. St Nicholas' Church 5. Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts) 6. Graslei 7. Korenlei 8. Ghent Town Hall 9. St Michael's Bridge 10. St Michael's Church 11. Patershol 12. Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market Square) 13. Dulle Griet (Mad Meg Cannon) 14. Design Museum Gent 15. St James' Church 16. STAM (Ghent City Museum) 17. Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) 18. S.M.A.K. (Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art) 19. Citadelpark 20. Het Pand 21. Klein Begijnhof (Small Beguinage) 22. Great Beguinage of Sint-Amandsberg 23. St Peter's Abbey 24. Gerard the Devil's Castle 25. Het Toreken (The Little Tower) 26. Rabot 27. Vooruit 28. Kouter (Flower Market Square) 29. Opera Ghent 30. Aula Academica of Ghent University 31. Werregarenstraat (Graffiti Alley) 32. Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant (Beer Bar) 33. Groentenmarkt and the Great Butchers' Hall 34. 't Dreupelkot Jenever Bar 35. Dampoort 36. Muide-Meulestede Docklands 37. Bijloke Site (Abbey and Music Centre) 38. Sint-Pieters Station Quarter 39. Ledeberg 40. Portus Ganda Marina 41. Blaarmeersen Recreation Park 42. Achtersikkel and the Hoogpoort Houses ## Is there an audio guide for St Bavo's Cathedral? Yes. St Bavo's Cathedral has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. It is place 1 of the 42 Ghent places in the app, at 51.05291, 3.72722. Every one of the other 41 places in the list above has the same two stories. Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself. ## How to use Roots Earth in Ghent Open Roots Earth and choose Ghent. The city has its own map of places with all 42 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order. You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. --- **In full** All 42 places in Ghent, in the app's order, with their coordinates. ## All 42 places in Ghent, with coordinates Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print. ### 1. St Bavo's Cathedral - Coordinates: 51.05291, 3.72722 - In one line: Ghent's Gothic cathedral grew from a chapel consecrated in 942 and became a cathedral in 1559. Its 89-metre tower crowns a Baroque-rich interior that guards the celebrated Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eyck brothers. ### 2. The Ghent Altarpiece (Adoration of the Mystic Lamb) - Coordinates: 51.05296, 3.72711 - In one line: Completed in 1432 by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, this folding oil polyptych in Saint Bavo's Cathedral is a landmark of early Netherlandish art, famous for its realism, its turbulent history of theft, and one panel still missing. ### 3. Belfry of Ghent - Coordinates: 51.05361, 3.72472 - In one line: Begun in 1313 and rising about 91 metres, Ghent's Gothic belfry once guarded the city's charters and sounded its alarm bells. Crowned by a gilded dragon and a carillon, it is a UNESCO-listed symbol of civic freedom. ### 4. St Nicholas' Church - Coordinates: 51.05389, 3.72167 - In one line: Begun in the early 13th century in grey Tournai stone, this Scheldt Gothic church beside the Korenmarkt is one of Ghent's oldest. Its lantern tower over the crossing once carried the town bells and anchors the famous three-towers view. ### 5. Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts) - Coordinates: 51.05722, 3.72083 - In one line: Built in 1180 by Count Philip of Alsace, this moated stone fortress served as the seat of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. Later a court, prison, and factory, it was restored around 1900 and is now Ghent's iconic medieval castle. ### 6. Graslei - Coordinates: 51.05528, 3.72 - In one line: Ghent's medieval port quay on the Leie, lined with guild houses and grain warehouses dating back to the 13th century. Restored for the 1913 World's Fair, its row of stepped gables forms one of Belgium's most photographed waterfront views. ### 7. Korenlei - Coordinates: 51.05528, 3.71917 - In one line: The left-bank quay of Ghent's medieval port on the Leie, facing Graslei across the water. ### 8. Ghent Town Hall - Coordinates: 51.05417, 3.72472 - In one line: Ghent's city hall wraps a full block in two clashing styles: a flamboyant late Gothic wing begun in 1519 and a sober Renaissance wing of 1595 to 1618. Its halls witnessed the 1576 Pacification of Ghent. ### 9. St Michael's Bridge - Coordinates: 51.05444, 3.71889 - In one line: A monumental stone arch over the Leie, built between 1905 and 1909 by architect Louis Cloquet and crowned with a bronze Saint Michael. Its raised deck frames Ghent's celebrated alignment of three medieval towers. ### 10. St Michael's Church - Coordinates: 51.05417, 3.71778 - In one line: A late Gothic church begun around 1440 whose grand tower was never finished. A 1662 design called for a spire of 134 metres; instead a flat roof was set over a stump in 1828. Inside hangs Van Dyck's Crucifixion. ### 11. Patershol - Coordinates: 51.05806, 3.72306 - In one line: A near-intact medieval maze of cobbled alleys and brick houses in the shadow of Gravensteen castle. Once tanners' quarter, then lawyers' enclave, then slum, Patershol was rescued in the 1980s and now brims with restaurants and bars. ### 12. Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market Square) - Coordinates: 51.05694, 3.72611 - In one line: One of Ghent's largest squares, home to a Friday market since 1199 and to centuries of rallies, ceremonies and revolts. The statue of rebel leader Jacob van Artevelde watches over a space ringed by guild houses and old socialist halls. ### 13. Dulle Griet (Mad Meg Cannon) - Coordinates: 51.05722, 3.72694 - In one line: A giant wrought-iron siege cannon from the 15th century, forged from 32 iron bars bound by 61 rings and stretching nearly five metres. Painted bright red and set near the Vrijdagmarkt, it ranks among Europe's surviving medieval superguns. ### 14. Design Museum Gent - Coordinates: 51.05639, 3.71972 - In one line: Ghent's museum of design and applied arts, founded in 1903 and set in an 18th-century mansion joined to a modern wing. Its collection of around twenty-two thousand objects runs from period interiors to Art Nouveau, Art Deco and contemporary design. ### 15. St James' Church - Coordinates: 51.05583, 3.72861 - In one line: A parish church near the Vrijdagmarkt whose twin Romanesque towers date from around 1120, making it among the oldest churches in Ghent. A Scheldt Gothic body rose over the early core, and pilgrims once paused here on the road to Santiago de Compostela. ### 16. STAM (Ghent City Museum) - Coordinates: 51.04417, 3.71583 - In one line: Ghent's city museum, opened in 2010 inside the medieval Bijloke abbey beside a glass-linked modern wing. It tells the city's story from the Middle Ages to today, centred on a vast walkable aerial photograph of Ghent across the floor. ### 17. Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) - Coordinates: 51.03833, 3.72528 - In one line: Ghent's oldest museum, housed in a neoclassical building of around 1900 by Charles Van Rysselberghe in Citadelpark. Its collection of roughly 9,000 works spans the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with paintings by Bosch, Rubens, and Ensor. ### 18. S.M.A.K. (Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art) - Coordinates: 51.03889, 3.72333 - In one line: Ghent's museum of contemporary art, opened in 1999 in a former casino building in Citadelpark opposite the Fine Arts Museum. Founded by curator Jan Hoet, it holds a leading Belgian collection of art made after 1945 and stages provocative exhibitions. ### 19. Citadelpark - Coordinates: 51.03833, 3.72167 - In one line: A large city park laid out in 1875 on the site of a demolished Dutch fortress. Redesigned for the 1913 World's Fair, its winding paths, ponds, and rock grotto now surround Ghent's two major art museums, the MSK and S. M. A. K. ### 20. Het Pand - Coordinates: 51.05278, 3.72056 - In one line: A former Dominican friary on the river Leie near Saint Michael's Bridge, with origins in a hospital of around 1201. After centuries of decline it was acquired by Ghent University in the 1960s and restored as the university's cultural and convention centre. ### 21. Klein Begijnhof (Small Beguinage) - Coordinates: 51.03694, 3.73389 - In one line: A walled enclave of brick houses behind whitewashed garden walls, around a church and green, founded in 1235 for the beguines, lay religious women. Known as Our Lady ter Hoyen, this small beguinage is one of Ghent's best preserved and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ### 22. Great Beguinage of Sint-Amandsberg - Coordinates: 51.06556, 3.7575 - In one line: Built in the 1870s as a walled village for Ghent's displaced beguines, this neo-Gothic complex of houses, convents and a central church is the only one of its kind in Flanders and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ### 23. St Peter's Abbey - Coordinates: 51.04139, 3.72861 - In one line: Founded in the late 7th century by Saint Amandus, this Benedictine abbey grew into the wealthiest in Flanders and the burial place of its early counts. Plundered, secularized and rebuilt in Baroque grandeur, it now serves as a cultural centre with gardens and a vineyard. ### 24. Gerard the Devil's Castle - Coordinates: 51.05278, 3.72639 - In one line: A 13th-century Gothic stone fortress on the Reep, named after the knight Gerard Vilain, nicknamed the Devil for his dark looks. Over the centuries it served as armoury, monastery, school, asylum, prison, fire station and state archive. ### 25. Het Toreken (The Little Tower) - Coordinates: 51.05722, 3.72556 - In one line: A late-medieval guild house on the Vrijdagmarkt, built in stone around 1450 by Ghent's tanners. Its corner tower, finished in 1483, is crowned by a golden mermaid weathervane named Melusine. Today it houses the city's Poetry Centre. ### 26. Rabot - Coordinates: 51.06083, 3.71694 - In one line: A fortified water gate with two round towers, built between 1489 and 1491 after Maximilian of Austria's siege exposed a weakness in Ghent's defences. It controlled the Lieve canal and could flood the surrounding land, giving its name to the modern neighbourhood around it. ### 27. Vooruit - Coordinates: 51.04694, 3.72611 - In one line: A grand festival hall built between 1911 and 1914 by Ghent's socialist cooperative movement as a palace of culture for working people. Designed by Ferdinand Dierkens, it is now a listed monument and a thriving arts centre hosting concerts, theatre and debate. ### 28. Kouter (Flower Market Square) - Coordinates: 51.04944, 3.72444 - In one line: One of Ghent's largest and grandest squares, once a horse market and military parade ground. It has hosted a Sunday flower market since 1772 and centres on a cast-iron music kiosk of 1878, framed by elegant 18th and 19th-century buildings. ### 29. Opera Ghent - Coordinates: 51.04972, 3.72611 - In one line: A neoclassical opera house designed by Louis Roelandt and opened in 1840, built by Ghent's industrial elite as a showcase of new wealth. Behind its columned facade lie an auditorium, ballrooms and a richly gilded foyer. ### 30. Aula Academica of Ghent University - Coordinates: 51.05028, 3.72722 - In one line: The ceremonial hall of Ghent University, designed by Louis Roelandt and inaugurated in 1826. Its temple-like portico of Corinthian columns recalls the Pantheon, and inside a domed rotunda still hosts graduations and academic ceremonies. ### 31. Werregarenstraat (Graffiti Alley) - Coordinates: 51.05389, 3.72389 - In one line: A narrow alley between Hoogpoort and Onderstraat where graffiti is legal and the walls change constantly. Sanctioned during the 1995 Ghent Festivities, it has become the city's living canvas, repainted again and again by amateurs and seasoned artists alike. ### 32. Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant (Beer Bar) - Coordinates: 51.05611, 3.72389 - In one line: A celebrated beer bar on the Groentenmarkt overlooking the Leie, known for a vast list of Belgian brews and its own house beer. A cosy stop in the historic centre where the city's beer culture meets the riverside. ### 33. Groentenmarkt and the Great Butchers' Hall - Coordinates: 51.05583, 3.72083 - In one line: A medieval covered meat market built between 1406 and 1419 on Ghent's vegetable market square. Once the butchers' guild monopoly, with offal sold to the poor in tiny adjoining shops, it now hangs cured hams and sells regional produce. ### 34. 't Dreupelkot Jenever Bar - Coordinates: 51.05583, 3.72389 - In one line: A tiny riverside bar by the Groentenmarkt devoted to jenever, the juniper spirit of the Low Countries that gave rise to gin. It pours scores of varieties, from grain to fruit-flavoured, served chilled and brimming in small glasses. ### 35. Dampoort - Coordinates: 51.06028, 3.74139 - In one line: A busy transport hub on the eastern edge of central Ghent, named after a former city gate. Its railway station opened in 1861 and remains the city's second main station after Gent-Sint-Pieters, ringed by tramlines, roads and waterways. ### 36. Muide-Meulestede Docklands - Coordinates: 51.07861, 3.73083 - In one line: A working-class peninsula in northern Ghent ringed by the old harbour docks, where 19th-century warehouses, swing bridges and dockside cranes survive among new housing. Once run by sailors and dockers, it is now a mixed, lived-in neighbourhood far from the tourist centre. ### 37. Bijloke Site (Abbey and Music Centre) - Coordinates: 51.04389, 3.71472 - In one line: A medieval abbey and hospital near the Leie, founded around 1228 and run for centuries by Cistercian nuns. After healthcare ended in 1982, its restored buildings became a cultural campus with the STAM museum and a concert hall in a 13th-century ward. ### 38. Sint-Pieters Station Quarter - Coordinates: 51.03556, 3.71083 - In one line: Ghent's grand main railway station, designed by Louis Cloquet and opened in 1912 for the 1913 World's Fair. Its clock tower, eclectic stonework and painted murals of Belgian towns crown a busy quarter that is the gateway for most arrivals to the city. ### 39. Ledeberg - Coordinates: 51.03444, 3.74028 - In one line: A dense, formerly independent working-class district just southeast of central Ghent, merged into the city in 1977. Once an industrial suburb crossed by a motorway viaduct, it is one of Ghent's most crowded and diverse neighbourhoods, anchored by the Church of Saint Livinus. ### 40. Portus Ganda Marina - Coordinates: 51.05417, 3.73278 - In one line: A modern yacht marina at the confluence of the Leie and Scheldt, the spot where Ghent began as the settlement called Ganda. Opened in 2005 on waterways once filled in for parking, it is now a lively quayside of moored boats and cafés. ### 41. Blaarmeersen Recreation Park - Coordinates: 51.04611, 3.68861 - In one line: A large recreation park southwest of Ghent, set around a lake beside the Watersportbaan rowing course. ### 42. Achtersikkel and the Hoogpoort Houses - Coordinates: 51.05333, 3.72611 - In one line: A hidden medieval courtyard off the Hoogpoort, named after the wealthy Van der Sickele family who owned these patrician houses in the 14th century. Its sandstone staircase tower and octagonal Renaissance belvedere survive among the city's finest medieval mansions, now home to a music conservatory. ## Roots Earth in short Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people. - No account - Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection - Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities Roots Earth for Android is available on Google Play: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app). ## More from Roots Earth - [Europe in the Roots Earth catalogue](https://rootsearth.com/cities#europe): every city in Europe with its number of places and its languages. - [What Roots Earth is](https://rootsearth.com/app): the app in one page, how it works and what is in it. - [Questions travellers ask](https://rootsearth.com/faq): the cities, the languages, the account, listening without a connection. - [The 7 languages](https://rootsearth.com/languages): the seven languages with their codes and how many cities each one covers. - [Brussels](https://rootsearth.com/cities/brussels): 51 places in Belgium with audio stories. - [Bruges](https://rootsearth.com/cities/bruges): 42 places in Belgium with audio stories. - [Antwerp](https://rootsearth.com/cities/antwerp): 45 places in Belgium with audio stories. - [Leuven](https://rootsearth.com/cities/leuven): 40 places in Belgium with audio stories. 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