Free tour

Free Evening Tour: The Dark Side of Ghent | History & Mystery Tour | By Local Legends

4.84

Excellent(383)

Ghent

Duration: 2 hours

Languages: English and Spanish

Guru: Legends Free Tours

PRO

Verified quality

Registered on 24 March 2020

Legends Free Walking Tours offer free tours, private tours and other fun experiences in Bruges, Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp. From its foundation in 2015, the Legends team has guided tens of thousands of tourists through Flanders thanks to the work of its large team of experienced local tour guides, who strive every day to provide a quality service and maximize the customer satisfaction. For this reason, Legends Free Walking Tours is the best rated tour company on TripAdvisor and has been named the top 20 best experience in Western Europe by Viator.

Free reservation and cancellation

Pay-what-you-want tour, no set price, reservation and cancellation are free

Tour description

Get to know the more hidden and enigmatic face of the old town of Ghent with this free tour of mysteries, legends and curiosities through the beautiful birthplace of Charles V.

Ghent is a beautiful city where echoes of the past still remain. Its medieval skyline can be best observed from the Saint Michael's bridge, where we will start the tour. After a brief introduction to the origins of the city, we'll head to the Graslei wharf, the old harbour of medieval Ghent.

Following the banks that mark the channels of the River Lys, we will arrive at the Appelbrugparkje to learn how those sentenced to death spent their last hours. Very close we will see the Hoofdbrug, also called “decapitation bridge”. From this place we will enjoy excellent views of the Gravensteen, the castle of the counts of Ghent.

Our next stop on this free tour takes us to the remains of the old Royal Palace where Charles V was born. After the rebellious people of Ghent came into conflict with him, he punished the city so severely that the city was never the same. The most powerful man in Europe in the 16th century will be the protagonist of several legends and curiosities that we will reveal to you during the tour.

The next stop is the old Augustine monastery, where we will tell you the bloody history of religious repression in Ghent, when the King of Spain, Felipe II, and his right hand, the Duke of Alba, fought against the rise of Protestantism in the provinces of the Netherlands.

Finally, we will conclude the tour in Patershol, one of the most beautiful medieval neighborhoods in Ghent, with some final tales of history and folklore...

We will see you soon!

Highlights

What will we see on this tour?

Meeting point:

Sint-Michielsplein 21, 9000 Gent, Belgium

We meet at the entrance of Hostel Uppelink in Ghent, look out for the guide with the red umbrella!

Outside visit

Sint-Michielsbrug gent

We start here with an introduction to the history of Ghent and the role the city played as a trading hub in medieval times. We also introduce you to the 3 towers of the Ghent skyline, which are best visible from this spot.

Outside visit

Graslei

We take you to the heart of the bustling medieval harbour of Ghent, back when the city was an economic powerhouse in Europe, to tell you about the lucrative trading activities.

Outside visit

Appelbrugparkje

On this bridge overlooking the giant Butchers’ Hall, we tell you the legend about the execution of a father and son and the miraculous event that saved them.

How much does this tour cost?

Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end the amount they consider appropriate (amounts usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).