Ghent is Belgium's fourth city by size, but its capital of creativity. The editor of ilovebelgium.be lists his six new must-sees
If Antwerp is the fashion capital of Belgium, Ghent is without a doubt the hipster capital of this creative little country. Not only is it the home of David and Stephen Dewaele, better known as Soulwax, aka the Fucking Dewaele Brothers, and the street artist Bue the Warrior, whose colourful creations can be found all over the world, there is also the art critic and curator Jan Hoet, who put Ghent on the map with the opening of the city's new museum of contemporary art, S.M.A.K. (smak.be), in 1999.
Since then this small attractive historic city has steadily gained a reputation as a place for foodies, fashionistas, music fans and design lovers, with a surprising selection of great shops, restaurants, museums and architecture, ranging from a medieval town fortress to a contemporary new city hall.
There's no need for a tourist map: visitors should just stroll around and stumble upon things, such as the rode neuzen (red noses – soft-centred, fruit-flavoured cone-shaped gummy sweets of Arabic origin) sold from a stand on the Groentenmarkt, to the Priem wallpaper shop (Zuivelbrugstraat 1), whose aged owners are still selling original wall coverings from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, in the main shopping area of Veldstraat.
No wonder Lonely Planet said this year on its website that "Ghent might just be the best European city you've never thought of visiting", and put it in its list of top 10 world cities. You discover something new around every corner, and Ghent has to thank all those quirky and fashionable boys and girls for turning this city into a melting pot of creativity. Here is my pick of some of the latest openings to get excited about ...
Wasbar
When young entrepreneurs Dries Henau (27) and Yuri Vandenbogaerde (24) were living in a small apartment with no space for a washing machine, they got fed up with cold, strip-lit launderettes, and came up with the concept of Wasbar (Wash bar), which is set to open on 5 Octobernext Friday. A modern version of a launderette, Wasbar will be a place to wash your clothes while relaxing with a cold beer or a coffee and a bite to eat. It will be open until 10pm (6pm on Sundays) and customers will be able to work on their laptops while sipping a latte, or even get their hair done, rather than stare at their undies going round the machine.
• Nederkouter 109, wasbar.be
Balls & Glory
"What we like most about our meatballs is that they are filled with things we love." That's the slogan of brand new meatballs restaurant Balls & Glory. Founder Wim Ballieu learned to make the perfect meatball when he was a child: his family were butchers and his grandparents had a big farm. He travelled the world catering huge events, but returned to open the restaurant, offering an assortment of stuffed meatballs, using apple sauce, cherries, rhubarb, mushrooms and black truffle, tomatoes and basil and more. The balls come in various sizes, from a 35g aperitif version (€5 for five) to a 200g "Glory Ball" (€4 each). They are prepared right in front of you and served with coleslaw or mashed potatoes.
• Sint-Jacobsnieuwstraat 103, ballsnglory.be
A&Gallery
Ben Van Alboom is a journalist and part-time party organiser who founded A&Gallery in May 2011. Over the past year, it has exhibited works by Moby, Sophie van der Perre, Frederik Buyckx, Jessica Yatrofsky and Storm Thorgerson, and co-hosted the Belgian premiere of the documentary feature Anton Corbijn Inside Out. Future exhibitions include the work of photographer Franky Verdickt and Elisabeth (or the girl who manages to get her favourite artists to pose for her old-school Polaroid) Ouni's A Polaroid Story.
• schepenhuisstraat 17, angels-ghosts.com
Hotel Gent
One of the city's most exciting current projects is Hotel Gent, a temporary hotel room 23m above the ground, built around the clock tower of Ghent's main train station, which, as you can see in the above photograph, is right there in the bedroom. It was created by Japanese artist Tazu Rous for a city-wide art experience project called TRACK, in which 41 artists created new works, turning Ghent into one big gallery.
Tazu Rous is well-known for his spatial "encounters" with unusual proportions, using iconic objects taken from public space. When he arrived in Europe in 1987 he was struck by the excessive – but also familiar and thus almost unnoticed – presence of public monuments and statues in the streets.
In Hotel Gent, the division between public and private space disappears as the visitor comes face to face with a public monument which, in the course of their daily routine, they would observe from a distance, only half consciously and in a fraction of a second.
• hotel-gent.net. The room is open to guests until 7 October (€105 a night) but is unfortunately sold out, so visitors will just have to admire it from afar
Bar Buro
Co-working, as in freelance professionals in different industries sharing a workspace, is popular throughout the world. One such venue in Ghent is Bar Buro, just across from the town hall. It is nothing like the sterile space you might imagine – all-white desks and pallid IT people. Rather it is a fun place to visit even if you don't have a deadline. There's a bar on the ground floor, a great place for lovers of coffee and chocolate, but also for an after-work mojito. On the first floor is an open co-working space where you'll see creative types on their Macbooks – and eating some of the chocolate treats sold downstairs.
Bar Buro is part of the Quetzal group, Belgium's most famous chocolate cafes (and there are quite a few). In Quetzal itself (a short walk away, on Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 99, quetzal.be) true chocolate lovers are strongly advised to try the cacao shot.
• Botermarkt 6, barburo.be
Josie
Ghent has some great shops, but a standout is the Josie collection, a sober yet elegant children's clothing collection that is like mini-couture. The designs, of quality and simplicity, are based on the past but designed for the future. Two sisters, Gerlinde and Mieke Verhaeghe, spend hours creating meticulous designs from superb fabrics, which they source from manufacturers that also supply Dries Van Noten and Ralph Lauren.
• Hoogpoort 131, josie.be
Read Stijn's blog at ilovebelgium.be, or on Twitter @ilovebelgium