Lonely Planet India - August 2016

1

Pick up your stash of

goodness at Chocolaterie

Cédric Van hoorebeke

where a father-and-son team

turns out some of the most

gorgeous chocolates belgium

is known for (00-32-9-224-2510;

http://www.chocolatesvanhoorebeke.

be; Jan Breydelstraat 1; 10am –

6pm; boxes from ` 940 / 250g).

2

Julie’s house is the place

for a sweet stop. Julie

specialises in patisserie

and home-made pastries like

appel suiker but also bring-

home treats like white chocolate

speculoos. the challenge

will be in not eating them

immediately (00 -32-9-233-

3390; http://www.julieshouse.be/en;

Kraanlei 13; 9am – 6pm Wed – Sun;

Grandma’s Apple Cake: ` 900

for six people).

3

Vleeshal a medieval meat

market from 1418 is said

to have been built by

upturning a ship hull for the roof.

today the trusses of the great

butchers’ hall (above) are

festooned with hanging Ganda

ham a Ghent specialty which

keeps for nine months (00 -32-

9-223-2324; http://www.grootvleeshuis.

be/en; Groentenmarkt 7; 10am –

6pm Tues – Sun; meal with Ganda

ham: ` 975).

4

it is said mustard can

be such a stimulant that

it used to be sold out of

chemist’s stores. not anymore.

the famous Tierenteyn-Verlent

mustard comes in creamy and

wholegrain versions spooned

out for you from a big vat into

sturdy glass jars that travel

well (00 -32-9-225-8336;

http://www.tierenteyn-verlent.be;

Groentenmarkt 3; 9am – 6pm Tues

• Fri from 9.30am Sat from 10am
  Mon; mustard from ` 150/ 90 ml).

5

on the road just in front

of the mustard shop is

the cuberdons cart. these

cone-shaped candies locally

called “little noses” are like

nothing you’ve tasted before!

the best on the Ghent food trail

is still to come though you cannot

bring them home: the waffles

at Max are perhaps the finest you

will eat in your life. if you’re lucky

the line will not snake around

the square. try the waffles baked

the traditional way – which means

they’re slightly crisp yet airy

and soft – with first-quality

belgian strawberries. the wait

staff all has a distinct attitude

but the waffles are worth it

(0 0 -32-9 -223- 9731;

Goudenleeuwplein 3; from ` 500).

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5 ghentian goodies to bring home!

Essentials

Make it Happen: Flanders

E40

E40

E19

E17

E19

N62

A12

E17

E403

GHENT

ANTWERP

BRUSSELS

BRUGES

FLANDERS

FLANDERS

The Netherlands

France

BELGIUM

Wallonia

click on the

links to Find

out more!

click to

view on

google

maps

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Flanders can be visited

through most of the year.

In springtime (Apr – May)

the weather is warm and

pleasant with flowers in full

bloom while the summer

from June to August sees

great outdoor festivals.

the weather in september

and october can get nippy

but prices tend to drop

at this time.

GETTING ThERE

we flew to brussels with

Jet Airways (return fares from

` 54000) which flies from

new delhi and mumbai.

turkish Airlines swiss

lufthansa Qatar Airways

Aeroflot and Finnair also

fly to brussels from Indian

metros (return fares from

` 45000).

GETTING AROUND

our itinerary goes straight

from brussels Airport to bruges

( just over an hour’s drive)

from bruges to ghent

(50 minutes) from ghent

to Antwerp (50 minutes)

and Antwerp back to brussels

(50 minutes). It makes sense

to hire cars to make the

one-way drops. self-drive car

rentals are also available from

companies like hertz sixt or

europcar (from ` 7 55 0/ d ay).

VISA^

Apply for a short-stay

schengen visa through

VFs (www.vfs-be-in.com)

it costs ` 4680 (plus ` 1560

VFS fees) and takes around

four to six working days

to process.

EMBASSY ALERT^

Embassy of India Brussels:

http://www.indembassy.be

CURRENCY

€ 1 = ` 76

FANCY A CURRY?

A list of Indian restaurants

in Flanders can be found

on the Visit Flanders website

(www.visitflanders.com).

do check out Ashok’s Indian

Restaurant in brussels

(00 -32-2-644-3411;

http://www.ashoks.be; Chaussée

de Vleurgat 192; from 12pm

Thur – Sun also from 6pm

Tues – Sun; mains from ` 800).

FURThER READING

l onely planet’s Belgium

& Luxembourg is a useful

resource as is the official

Flanders tourism website

(www.visitflanders.com).

Individual city websites

are in each city section

in this feature.

88 July 2016