The medieval city of Ghent, Belgium has an awful lot going for it, but the castle is a unique treasure in a region largely devoid of castles.
We got admission as part of the CityPass, which was awfully affordable if you go to even 2-3 attractions, but we hit closer to 7, plus used the included passes for the city tram heavily over our two days.
The castle is old, sure, but the history inside shows how degraded and knocked down the place was over time. It was truly derelict until a hundred years or so ago when a concerted effort was made to restore it to its original glory.
Not only has it been accurately restored, but they used much different stones, so it’s easy to see which parts are original and which have been added anew.
Be sure to get there well before closing, because when they say they close at 5:00 (or whatever the time is that day,) be advised that they’ll be pushing you toward the exits a solid 30-40 minutes before that.
Who doesn’t love a castle!?! Been through Belgium twice, had no idea this existed.