Ghent Hop-On Hop-Off Water Tramway Day Ticket

Kraanlei boarding point and how the water tram works

Your day starts at Kraanlei 2, the quay on the Leie beside the Castle of the Counts and the Old Fish Market, where the water tram boats pick up and set down. With the Ghent water tram ticket you board any boat during the day, listen to the audio guide between stops, and step off wherever the next sight is. The boats circulate along the river and canals of the medieval centre, and the map you receive shows the stops and the six walking routes that start from them.

Because the historic centre of Ghent is compact and almost entirely surrounded by water, the hop-on hop-off boat replaces long walks between neighbourhoods with short, scenic rides. Most visitors do a full loop first to listen to the whole commentary, then use later boats as a shuttle while they explore on foot.

Graslei, Korenlei and St Michael's Bridge

The old grain harbour on the Leie is the heart of the route. The Graslei and Korenlei quays face each other across the water, lined with guild houses from the twelfth to the seventeenth century whose stepped gables are reflected in the river, and St Michael's Bridge at the southern end frames the three towers of the city in one view. The water tram passes beneath the bridge and along both quays, which is the angle from which this famous scene was always meant to be seen.

Hop off here to walk the quays, sit on the steps by the water or cross to the Korenmarkt and the squares behind. The Ghent canal boat day pass is ideal for this area because you can ride through it in the morning light and again in the evening when the facades are lit, without buying a second ticket.

Gravensteen Castle and the Patershol

Gravensteen, the Castle of the Counts, rises directly beside the Kraanlei boarding point. Built in 1180 by the Count of Flanders, with a moat, turreted walls and a central keep, it later served as a court, a prison and a cotton mill before being restored, and it is the most complete medieval castle in Flanders. From the boat the walls and turrets are reflected in the water; from the stop you can walk straight to the entrance and tour the ramparts in about an hour, with tickets bought on site.

Behind the castle lies the Patershol, a knot of medieval lanes where craftsmen once lived and where small restaurants now fill the old houses. One of the six walking routes on your map threads through it, and getting back on the Ghent sightseeing boat afterwards takes only a few minutes.

The Old Fish Market, Kraanlei houses and the northern canals

From the castle the boats follow the Kraanlei, named after the medieval crane that unloaded cargo here, past the Baroque gateway of the Old Fish Market of 1689 with its statue of Neptune and the carved facades of the seventeenth-century houses. The audio guide explains the panels and figures on the fronts, which were the shop signs of their day, and points out the water gates and small bridges that once controlled trade into the city.

Further on, the quieter northern canals lead towards the Prinsenhof district, where the counts of Flanders had their palace, and the Lieve canal dug in the thirteenth century to reach the sea. This stretch is the calmest part of a Ghent boat ticket day and the one most visitors would never find on foot.

The three towers and the six walking routes

Wherever the boat takes you, the skyline of St Nicholas' Church, the Belfry and St Bavo's Cathedral marks the centre. The Belfry is listed by UNESCO and rises 91 metres above the cloth hall; St Bavo's holds the celebrated fifteenth-century Ghent Altarpiece. The towers are a short walk from the Graslei stop, and two of the six self-guided routes on your map lead to them through the Korenmarkt and the Botermarkt.

The other routes cover the Patershol, the Vrijdagmarkt square with its Friday market tradition, the Prinsenhof and the southern Kouter district, each walk returning to a water tram stop. For a Ghent self-guided tour this combination of boat and foot is the most efficient way to see things to do in Ghent in a single day, and the audio guide fills in the history as you ride between them.