The Best Markets to Visit in Ghent
With flower markets and covered food halls open every day, Gentenaars’ lives are already spiced with market fragrances and flavors during the week. Come the weekend, though, and this historic canal city gets really spoilt for choice, as brocanteurs, artisans, and booksellers stream into the squares and waterside alleys, inviting you to spend the day leisurely strolling from one lively market to the next.
1. Flower Market on the Kouter
Food Kiosk, Market
A smattering of florists is present every day on this spacious square that was chosen by the 19th-century bourgeoisie as their favorite space for a leisurely walk, but Sundays are special. Ghent’s tradition of selling flowers on the last day of the week originated in 1772, and the town has kept the fragrant tradition up ever since, earning the Kouter the nickname “Garden of all Gentenaars.” Sundays are, thus, still the liveliest day, with the market expanding greatly and often a brass band playing on the Kouter’s eye-catching 19th-century cast-iron kiosk. Sundays are also the day when locals come to slurp oysters and champagne outside the picturesque Blue Kiosk. On the square’s edge, the charming independent bookstore Paard Van Troje makes a mighty espresso and carries an English section.
Every day from 7 am to 1 pm
Book Market on Sunday
Further bookworm rummaging happens at the Ajuinlei on Sundays. Here, dozens of tables are put up by the waterside to support the weight of hundreds of books. Sometimes a bit tattered, yellowed or with notes from a previous owner in the margins, most of the items are secondhand and make great bargains. Founder Thierry Bonnaffé imagined a community like the bouquinistes of Paris, who sell their literature on the banks of the river Seine, gathering at Ghent’s Leie, and he wasn’t far off. It’s a quaint charmer of a market that makes the stroll from the Kouter to the Groentenmarkt a joy.
Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm
Ajuinlei and Predikherenlei, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
2. Organic or artisan market at the Groentenmarkt
Market, Belgian
Organic market: Fridays from 7:30 am to 1 pm
Artisan market: Saturdays and Sundays from April 1st until September 30th, 10 am to 6 pm; on hold during the Ghent Festivities
3. Flea market and antiques at Sint-Jacobs
Market, Belgian
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8 am to 1 pm
4. Friday Market
Market
Fridays from 7:30 am to 1 pm, and Saturdays from 11 am to 7:30 pm
5. Holy Food Market
Food Court, Market, Restaurant, Belgian
Every day from 11 am to 10 pm
6. Lousberg Market
Market, Grocery Store, Belgian
Every day from 8 am to 8 pm
7. Sunday Market at Ledeberg
Market
Sundays from 7:30 am to 1 pm
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