Evening Tour of the Dark Side of Gent

Explore Ghent’s dark side on an evening tour. Uncover myths, legends, and hidden gems with a passionate local guide. Book now for an unforgettable experience.

Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • St Michael’s Bridge - 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.

  • St. Bavo’s Cathedral (Sint-Baafskathedraal) - We’ll tell you the gruesome story of why the beautiful cathedral is also known as the ‘Devil’s Tower’.

  • Graslei and Korenlei - 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.

  • 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.

  • Gravensteen - Built by Count Baldwin in the 9th century to protect the inhabitants from the Viking raids, it was around this impressive fortification that the city started to develop. Our guide will share its fascinating history with you.

  • Prinsenhof - Next, we take you to what once was a gigantic palace called the Prince’s Court. Today we need some imagination to envision it, but our guide will bring its history to life!

  • Rabot Sluice - Here, we will show you the only remaining tower of the 14 km long defence wall that was built around Ghent in the Middle Ages.

  • Keizer Karel V - We take you to the Bridge of Imperial Delights, which is flanked by 4 sculptures which depict legendary scenes of the life of Charles V. Our guide will explain you some of them.

  • Augustijnenklooster Gent - On this stop, we’ll tell you about the troublesome history of the Religious Wars and the effect the Calvinist rule has had on the history of the city.

  • Patershol - To finish the tour, we take you to the picturesque medieval quarter of the Patershol or ‘Monk’s hole’ to tell you about the social impact of the Industrial Revolution and the role it played in the revival of the city’s economy!

What's Included
  • All fees and/or taxes
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Join our evening tour of Ghent and uncover the intriguing history, myths, and legends of our city with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic local guide.

We’ll take you off the usual path to reveal some highlights and hidden treasures of our beautiful city. After 1.5 hours, we’ll conclude the tour in the medieval quarter of Ghent, very close to the city center, leaving you with a deeper appreciation of Ghent and perhaps some new friends!

If you cannot attend the tour for any reason, please let us know so we can offer your spot to other visitors. Thank you and enjoy the tour!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Our guides are volunteers who provide tours for tips, so please bring cash to tip the guide. The charged fee only covers the cost of booking through this platform.

Location
Saint Michael's Bridge
Sint-Michielshelling
We meet in front of Hostel Uppelink, Sint-Michielsplein 21. Look for the RED umbrella! IMPORTANT NOTE: Our guides are volunteers who offer tours for tips. The fee only covers the cost of booking via this platform.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(277 Ratings)
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Lisaep3673wa
Oct 4, 2024
Visit the Dark Side - This was a great tour! Kenny is very passionate and a great storyteller. Would highly recommend this tour if you are visiting Ghent!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Krasisko
Oct 3, 2024
Excellent tour! - Excellent tour. Kenny is very passionate about Ghent’s history, he’s shared lots of fascinating stories and legend and took us to many places with very interesting history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
288intand
Oct 3, 2024
The good and the bad side of Bruxelles. One of a kind - Rahin was truly informative and entertaining. The tour felt very short, i was fully emerged in those historical information. Wish it would've lasted longer!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tombh4636yb
Oct 1, 2024
Kenny, the Ideal Guide to the City of Ghent - With Kenny as our Guide, we had a great tour through history and the city of Ghent! Despite the rainy weather, Kenny remained unabatedly enthusiastic and showed us all the beautiful spots of the city, with a unique exposition of (ugly) facts and fables. It was great, Kenny thanks
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100salmant
Sep 30, 2024
Exceptional and charming - Kenny was amazing! His sense of humor made the tour truly exceptional. It wasn’t your typical walking tour—it felt more like an engaging story that kept us entertained from start to finish. Informative yet funny, Kenny brought the history of Ghent to life in a way that was both educational and enjoyable. His storytelling added to the charm of the city, making the experience all the more memorable. Highly recommend!
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90lukasi
Sep 28, 2024
Time travel to medieval Ghent - A great tour with many impressive and eerie facts about the city of Ghent. Our guide was Isabell, she did great.
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47ruchikam
Sep 27, 2024
Highly recommended. - Had the best time. The city looks so beautiful at night. Isabelle was so passionate, loved her story telling skills she kept us on the hook.
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Go44481193787
Sep 27, 2024
Very nice evening tour of Gent - Kenny was an amazing guide and has a lot of humour. He showed us the back alleys of Gent and told us a lot of dark history about the city.
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Laura_a_m_1986
Sep 26, 2024
Fantastic nighttime tour - The tour was led by Kenny, a local of Ghent. He was very passionate and enthusiastic and had some great legends and stories about the darker side of Ghents history. Lots of gory stories! But all told with lots of humour. We got to see a different area of the city to that covered in the day time tour. It was a fantastic tour, thanks Kenny!
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R3rastogi
Sep 24, 2024
Disappointing - The tour operator did not show up. There were 15-20 people with reservations waiting for the guide, but they never showed up. There was also no communication from the company. The person working at the hostel meeting point tried to get in contact with them for us, but was unsuccessful. Very disappointing experience and waste of time
Review provided by Tripadvisor