Local information

Travel information

Getting to Ghent

(https://visit.gent.be/en/good-know/practical-information/how-get-ghent)

Take a train to Ghent St-Pieters station. For information about train timetables, click here.

From Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), you can take either public transport (bus and trains) or the Flibco bus.

  • Public transport: Bus A (TEC) to Charleroi Sud station (20 minutes) + direct train to Brussels-Midi (50 minutes). From there, a second direct train will take you to Ghent-Sint-Pieters in about 30 minutes.
  • Flibco shuttle bus: every 2 to 3 hours, a shuttle bus goes straight from Charleroi airport to Ghent-Sint-Pieters in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Getting around in Ghent

(https://visit.gent.be/en/good-know/practical-information/getting-around)

There is a good bus and tram network throughout the city. Tickets cost €2,5 and can be purchased from a ticket machine, selling point, in the app, or by texting DL to 4884 (valid for 60 minutes). A ticket valid for 10 rides costs €17 (€1,70 per 60 minutes of validity). You will find the ticket vending machines outside the station, on the tram platform. There are also day tickets (24h; app or vending machine) for €7,5 and 3-day tickets (72h; vending machine only) for €15.

However, Ghent is pretty manageable on foot (or bicycle) as well. All hotels suggested on this website are in the center of town, as is the conference venue. For a map of the city, click here (or many other websites).

For the city’s touristic brochures (in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish), please visit https://visit.gent.be/en/good-know/practical-information/publications.

Please note: As of September 1st 2022, construction works on the tramline entail that Line 4 between the main station and the city center will not operate as usual. However, the main tram line from the station to the city center and to the conference venue (Line 1) will operate as usual, but it now departs from Platform 18 (right opposite the main entrance to the station). You can use the Route Planner to plan your trip.

Accommodation

(https://visit.gent.be/en/overnight-stay)

© UGent, foto Jonas Vandecasteele en Yentl Vandendriessche

As Ghent is one of the most touristic cities in Belgium, hotels are usually quite full, so we recommend you book your accommodation well in advance.

Some hotel options close to the conference venue are:

In addition, nice rooms are available for more convenient prices at the Youth Hostel. Another alternative, often also cheaper than a hotel room, could be one of the many B&B‘s spread across the city.

Restaurants

(https://visit.gent.be/en/eat-drink/restaurtants-pubs)

The city of Ghent is home to lots of good restaurants, of different styles and cuisines. In general, booking a table in advance is always a good idea. A good place to be inspired when looking for a restaurant is the Vlaanderenstraat or the Oudburg.

Ghent is Europe’s Veggie Capital (e.g., all official canteens have one vegetarian day per week, and a vegetarian option every day). There are plenty of cafés and restaurants known especially for their vegetarian and/or vegan dishes:

More generally, these restaurants are particularly popular among tourists as well as locals: