Walk Local with Wim Goes

First date with our city? This hike reveals some of Ghent's highlights, wrapped up in a route that's easy to follow. There's a clear start and finish point, with lots of nice addresses along the way. There are always suggestions for breakfast, lunch, apero and dinner. Up to you to decide where to stop. To avoid disappointment, reservations may be advisable.  

The suggestions are places that are on or near the route, but are definitely worth discovering if you have a little more time in our city. 

It's no surprise that architect Wim Goes takes us to the most beautiful places (and facades!) our city has to offer. Of course, architects are also hungry and thirsty. This walk is a treat for all the senses!

If the name Wim Goes rhymed with architecture, it wouldn't surprise anyone. Wim Goes (1969) teaches at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven and more than 20 years ago he founded an architectural firm under his own name: Wim Goes Architectuur. His work has won several awards, including the Belgian Architecture Award and the Architectural Review Award. In 2002, his conversion of an industrial building for an enterprise in Ghent was awarded the Architecture Award of East Flanders and the Architecture Award of the Order of the Architects. And that's not all, he also left his mark on the design of the Ghent museum square that will serve as a link between the MSK and the S.M.A.K.

5,5 km - 7300 steps

There's no better place to start your tour than at the temple of contemporary art – the S.M.A.K. Get your first caffeine rush with a cup of coffee at the SMAKcafé – double shot! – before making your way through the student district. 

In that same neighbourhood, under the shadow of The Book Tower designed by Henry van de Velde, you will find the iconic Vooruit, a stately building with a restaurant, café and event hall under one historic roof. Make sure you pick up the pamphlet listing their events, which consist of popular and somewhat more atypical performances. Around the corner (you can’t miss it), you will see De Krook city library, an architectural play of light and shadow designed by the architects Coussee and Goris in collaboration with the Pritzker prize winners R.C.R. From the library, a sort of tow-path runs along the Scheldt towards the Old Law Courts. Between these two highlights, most of the other buildings and features are not so good-looking. Some of these are the products of opportunistic real estate deals, while others are actually the rear-side of administrative buildings, punctuated ever so often by a beacon of architecture in the form of a bridge. A wooden trellis patio bridge exudes a force that completely cancels out the shortcomings of its surroundings. This was a project by the Brussels-based practice, Office.

Follow the winding streets of downtown Ghent along the waterfront into the historic city centre. Be sure to stroll along the square at St Michael's Church, which is the main gateway to the city centre, and continue on to the Prinsenhof. Nearby, on Varkensstraat, you'll find the home of the architect Marie José Van Hee. The austere façade of grey cemented brick is designed to achieve a balance between horizontal and vertical lines, but is, above all, a project of materiality, light and humanity.

Zigzag your way towards the city centre that is popular with visitors and discover a gem of architectural prowess under St Michael's Bridge. At the end of the cycle bay is a small staircase that leads to the arthouse cinema Sphinx. This staircase, in combination with the ceiling, is a masterpiece that speaks of light, space, plasticity and functionality, a work that is part of Marie José Van Hee's redesign of the centre in collaboration with Robbrecht and Daem architects.