Driving to Ghent can be quite tricky once off the highway.  After a few twists and turns down some archaic streets, we found Gravensteen Castle.  We parked, fed the meter (since we didn’t discover the Belgian Parking card yet) and walked up the road to the castle.

It was quite early so we didn’t have a problem parking.  If you want to visit this castle it’s best to do so earlier in the day to avoid driving around to search for parking.  The roads are quite confusing and even the locals get lost down the one-way roads or bus thruways.

The weather started out cool and a bit cloudy at first, but it didn’t stop us from exploring.  The castle was lovely.  There was a school trip of probably 100 ten-year-old children, so it was quite lively.  Otherwise, there were only a handful of tourists.  The castle was beautiful and there were cool exhibits.  I especially enjoyed looking at all the armor that was displayed.  We climbed to the top of the castle, which was not too bad of a trek and saw lovely views of the town.

After our tour, we walked across the street to a little courtyard of eateries to enjoy some Belgian cuisine.  Please be patient because in these smaller towns, everything moves at a slower pace.  Restaurant service is quite slow, so you may need to get a server’s attention if you want to be waited on, just be subtle and polite about it with a small hand gesture or such.

The weather got better as we finished our lunch.  While we walked back to our car, I had to take one more photo of the castle.  It blended nicely with the newer construction on the river bank.