Going to Gent was not in our itinerary. Well, I have never heard of the place before and having the chance to visit three incredible cities in Belgium, I was not that eager to push to make it happen though my brother-in-law told me that it's a beautiful city. On our last day, we made the effort to push for the visit and it was the greatest decision we made during the trip.

Gent is not only beautiful, it's a gem - a hidden one. When we visited the place, it felt like we were the only tourists there. Not because of the weird stares of people, but because we were the only ones with cameras and pointing it to their buildings. Well, we were probably the only tourists as most of the people we've crossed paths with were students. As I said on my first entry about Europe, it was in Gent that I was in awe for the first time. Maybe because I wasn't expecting something great from this city and then it gave me a good dose of elegant and imposing architecture from way back medieval times. Imagine a beautiful city with less tourists; you can really take that leisure stroll and appreciate every moment of it. Maybe that's the main reason why Gent, amongst all the cities of Belgium I've visited, was the one that took my breath away (I still remember my request to my sister to stop for a while for me to savour the moment and the view).
If it wasn't raining then, I would have stayed on the banks - sit and smile for longer time.

Here are some of the photos of this magnificent gem. If you will visit Belgium, make sure to visit Gent (tagged as the new Bruges by lonelyplanet). For sure you will fall in love with the place.