Every three years, the city of Ghent here in Belgium organizes the Ghent Light Festival. In 2021, this Ghent winter festival will take place from November 10 until November 14.
Because there's no point in hearing about it when the festival's already passed, I wanted to share my experience attending a previous edition and give you the necessary information to visit in 2021.
The Ghent Light Festival Route
The Ghent Light Festival route showcases 32 light art projects of local, national, and international artists over about 6 km. It's designed as a loop so you can start wherever you like, but you do need to follow the designated direction. The light festival is usually very crowded so it's best if everybody's going the same way.
As you'll see, there are two works of art that lie a bit away from the loop of the lights festival but everything is in the center of the city. Along the route are also four information points where you can pick up a paper map.
You can find an interactive map of the route here or pick up a paper route at one of the information points along the route.
When to go to the Ghent Light Festival: opening hours and more
Dates: November 10 – 14, 2021.
Time: 7 p.m. – midnight.
Price: free.
Please note that the light fest always draws a big crowd and that both public transportation and the roads will be packed right before it all starts as well as during the festival. I recommend leaving on time if you can.
Go grab an early bite in the city center or turn your visit into a day trip. Ghent has plenty to offer.
How to get to the Ghent Light Festival
By public transportation
By train
Train station Gent-Dampoort is located close to the festival route and offers easy access from various big and smaller cities around Belgium. Belgian Rail has timetables and prices for all train connections in Belgium.
By bus or tram
If you're coming from close to the center, taking the bus or tram might be an option. Check the website of transportation company De Lijn for timetables and prices.
By car
I'm not gonna lie: traveling by car in Flanders isn't the most relaxed way to travel, and especially not around peak traffic times which has basically become from Monday morning 6.30 a.m. until Friday evening 9 p.m. in some regions.
If you plan to travel to the festival of lights by car, prepare for the possibility of a traffic jam and please don't drive into the center. It's designed to keep cars out, making it hell to find a spot on the streets. The route of the festival will also be made traffic-free for non-locals.
Your best option is to follow the signs from the highway to the parking lots of event hall Flanders Expo. From there, you can take the tram into the city center.
Go here to check out other Park&Ride options.
Most of the Park&Ride options offer free parking, but you need to get a ticket to take the tram into the city center.
Please note that Ghent is a low emission zone.
Read more about what that means here.
Ghent Light Festival video of the 2015 edition
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Birthe says
Oh, leuk! Wij willen dit jaar graag gaan. Misschien kunnen we er wel een 2-daagse van maken. ;) Bedankt om me er nog eens aan te herinneren!
Sofie says
Heel graag gedaan! Goed idee om er twee dagen van te maken :-)
Sunny says
Hi Sofie,
As a massive fan of your country, this blog is a lifesaver! I’ll be in Belgium from tomorrow till Monday and I’ll be using your guide for Mechelen and your “Leuven city walk” guide for my day trips to those cities respectively. I’ll also be in Gent as well for this lights festival this weekend! I have 1 question, you said you should go by train to Gent-Dampoort but would it be better to start from Sint-Peeters Plein station or will that be where it’s most crowded? Also if you have some free time in Leuven (or in Gent), it’d be great to meet with a local for a coffee!
Best,
Sunny
Sofie says
Hey Sunny,
Thanks so much for your comment! So happy that you find the blog useful :-)
I think the entire route will be crowded. It’s just that Gent-Dampoort is closer to it than Gent-Sint-Pieters, so it’s up to you depending on what else you have planned in the city.
Thank you for the coffee invitation, but I’m afraid I’m a bit swamped at the moment. I’m keeping myself locked in to get all the work done that needs to get done :-)
Have fun while you’re visiting!
Bill Anderson says
Your tram info leads to confusion; the tram site gives the entire list of stops but which one for tne llight route? No info. When do they return? Hard to figure out… you need to pick a stop, look up tram times from that stop and then figure out which destination (end of line) you need. As a stranger, this is poorly thought out. Are there night trams? No info.
Sofie says
Hi Bill,
I’m sorry you don’t find the information sufficient.
As the route changes every year and the tram times can change more often than that, I prefer to direct people to the official website rather than share information that may get out of date, but I’ll keep your comments into account for when I next update the article.