What to do and see in Ghent, Flanders: The Best Museums

Gent Glas is a public glass studio and cafe located in the heart of Ghent. Want to see live glass making demonstrations or experience working with glass yourself? We offer live events during the week with cold beer and hot glass, Do It Yourself workshops, and much more! Be sure to check out our website for workshops for a unique, one of a kind experience to remember Ghent!

PARCE (“Friend” in Colombian slang) is a workplace for artists and a place where they can exhibit and, if desired, sell their work. The primary focus is on Latin-American art, mainly from Colombia. In addition to the art studio, PARCE also has a small shop in jewelry, bags and handicrafts. The shop aims to introduce the Ghent public to Latin-American culture, mainly to the Colombian culture.

The Ghent University Museum is located at the heart of the Ghent Botanical Garden, right around the corner from MSK Ghent and S.M.A.K. The GUM is a museum dedicated to science, research and critical thinking, where visitors can discover that scholarship is the result of trial and error, doubt and imagination. At the science museum, visitors can discover a highly valuable and exceptional collection covering various disciplines, ranging from Biology to Archaeology, and from Psychology to Medicine. The collection is where the history of science and contemporary research meet, while simultaneously offering a glimpse into the future. Throughout the exhibits and the programme, the GUM will be exploring the bridge between science and art.

The only surviving "castle of the count."

At the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK), you can discover more than 400 masterpieces of European art from the Middle Ages to the present day. In our iconic building, Old Masters such as Bosch and Rubens hang alongside Impressionists, Surrealists and Modernists. With names like Ensor, Magritte and Permeke, Belgian art is well represented. And you can now also witness the live restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece, behind the glass wall of the restoration room. The museum shop and restaurant, a diverse programme with room for contemporary art and our location in the Citadel park all turn the museum into a vibrant place where you can easily pass a few hours surrounded by beauty.

STAM is the Ghent city museum. It presents the story of the city of Ghent. A permanent circuit leads visitors along a chronological trail of objects and multimedia which trace the development and growth of Ghent. Temporary exhibitions explore the concept of 'urbanity' from different angles. STAM's real showpiece, its raison d'être, is the city itself. A visit to the city museum is not complete without a visit to Ghent. STAM is ten years old this year... time for a make-over for the permanent exhibition. From December 7th you will mingle with parchment abbots, enterprising women, amorous rebels and self-seeking benefactors from the Middle Ages to the present day as you make your way through the new-look 'Story of Ghent’. You will see and feel the city grow and change shape. You will discover some of the city’s secrets and of course there will also be a fresh version of our (still gigantic) aerial photograph.

In the centre of Ghent, just a stone’s throw from the Vrijdagmarkt, the Museum of Industry is located in an impressive factory building. In the former cotton mill – you can still smell the machine oil! – major and minor stories out of the eventful history of industry are brought to life. Various generations of entrepreneurs, merchants and labourers sweep you along in a universal story about people and machines, and how they changed the world round us. The Museum of Industry’s surprisingly diverse collection with international appeal piques visitors’ curiosity. Evocative images, historical films, notable objects and gripping tales make the industrial past come to life; from a colossal steam machine to old advertisements, to the story of a labourer living in a humble factory-provided workman’s dwelling. The Museum of Industry is also bursting with activities.