Julie Lenssens (1989)

As a pie-lover I just had to write something about this cute cozy pastry house that resembles a big dollhouse. One day I might open my own ‘Julie’s house’ together with my sister.

Located in the beginning of the patershol-district it’s an ideal place for a break during shopping or sightseeing. Since I think a piece of pie needs a cup of tea, I really like the fact that they have a wide variety of special organic teas.

My favorite pies are the raspberry-chocolate one and the blueberry cheesecake. Beside afternoon tea/coffee it’s also possible to have breakfast. I haven’t tried it yet, but it absolutely looks delicious. Since the place has become very popular it’s possible that it’s quite crowded, but you can sit down upstairs as well!

Au bon Marché was established in 1990. This shop is very well known in Ghent and far beyond. If I’m walking around in the Veldstraat I often pass by this cute shop to have a look at the lovely jewelry and accessories displayed in their window. The interior makes me think of an old Parisian 19th century luxury-shop.

They sell so many beautiful things that I often don’t know where to start looking. Handbags in different colors and fine leather, jewelry from Wouters & Hendrix, shoes from Chie Mihara, original notebooks and postcards and much more.

It’s the perfect place to find an original and beautiful gift for a woman or a girl. The only minus is the fact that since they sell quality and brand-products the prices are rather high. But hey: “Better one stunning original piece of good quality that lasts for ever instead of 10 worthless ones”, my mom always says. Perfect excuse for me to buy that nice pair of earrings I’ve been wanting for so long!

Het Trefpunt is one of the nice bars on the ‘Bij Sint-Jacobs-square’. One of the reasons I really like the place is because of the mixture of people you can meet here. Young, old, foreign, fashionable, seedy, name it and you can find them in this café.

The bar is part of a cultural organisation called VZW het trefpunt. They organise a lot of stuff like concerts, comedy-shows and so on.

Every Monday there is a free concert. On Sunday evenings they have DJ-sessions. Every Thursday evening at 9 pm they organise a stand-up-comedy-show in the venue next to the café with the improv comedians “The Lunatics” and sometimes a guest comedian. Usually the comedians perform in Dutch language, but sometimes the guest comedians perform in English as well. It depends, so it’s worth to have a look. 

A puur a has been around since 1998 and was founded by Katrien Buyle. It became an established value in the design and fashion-world in Belgium. The store in Ghent is located in the pleasant Onderbergen-straat, where you can find other cute shops and good restaurants! A puur a has a second one in Antwerp as well, located in the fashion-district in the famous Nationalestraat. 

You will find a broad range of gorgeous interior-objects. From furniture to handmade note-books. They have original presents for different budgets. Naturalness wins over perfectly polished in this shop. Besides decorating-stuff they offer a large collection of unique clothes and accessories. Think of shoes, warm woolen scarves, ethnic earrings, handbags, wallets and so on. Designs are often sleek, made of organic materials and no-nonsense.

When you walk by you should definitely take a peek!

Maybe you already noticed that I’m quite a foodie. When visiting Belgium you probably would like to try some real Belgian dishes. I have a great tip: restaurant/brasserie Belgaqueen! Founded by the famous Antoine Pinto and located in a former grain storehouse in the ancient center of Ghent it’s the perfect place for a gastronomic night out. Now that spring has finally arrived it’s possible to have dinner on their terrace with a magnificent view over the Korenlei.

The prices are quite high (I always go there with my parents because the price range is too high for my poor student budget) but it’s definitely worth it if you want to try some real Belgian quality food. Pinto’s philosophy consists of using high quality local products. Even the wines come from Belgian winegrowers abroad.

Although I have never been in the ‘club part’ of the restaurant I think I should mention it. On the first floor there is a kind of lounge bar where you can have drinks and exclusive cigars. Every Thursday to Sunday evening there is a DJ playing music.

A bit strange to write about, but if you have lunch or dinner in the Belgaqueen it’s worth to pay a visit to the toilets. There’s something special about them. When the toilet doors aren’t locked the glass is see-through, but the moment you switch the lock, the door gets blurred and no one is able to see you. It’s a kind of magic!