Hospitaalbrug
The cycling route starts at cycle node 4, at the Hospitaalbrug at Coupure Links.
Hospitaalbrug, 9000 Gent
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Preview waypointsGhent means city-tripping in a city brimming with culture, heritage, trendy restaurants and 'free-form' cafés. But there are also some surprising green oases within cycling distance, such as the Gentbrugse Meersen and Parkbos.
The cycling route starts at cycle node 4, at the Hospitaalbrug at Coupure Links.
Flanders' most versatile and bike-friendly city will spoil you with a mix of culture, history, welcoming (veggie) restaurants and a great deal of ambiance. Settle down at a table along the Graslei or Korenlei, take comedian Wouter Deprez's audio tour of the Gravensteen, stroll through the picturesque Patershol and take that romantic selfie from Sint-Michielsbrug.
Set your bike aside for a coffee or tea at Bar Bidon, and enjoy the view from the terrace of this Ghent hotspot for cycling and coffee-lovers. Nearby, the Reep, dammed in 1960, a traditionally natural connection between Lys and Scheldt, reopened in 2018. This followed continued pressure from many Ghent residents, who always saw the damming as a disfigurement of historic Ghent.
Not only waterfowl, raptors and waders are delighted with the lake landscape of the Gentbrugse Meersen – Ghent residents smoothly find their way to this 240-hectare 'green oasis' as well. Owing to a minor adjustment to the cycling network, you now cycle right through it, passing by the birth forest, the play forest and the peace monument. Your climb to the top will be rewarded with stunning views of the surrounding area.
This popular café with a terrace and playground on the edge of the Gentbrugse Meersen is the place to be in this sub-municipality of Ghent. You can eat or drink something there all year round, but from March to October, afternoon sweets are also on the menu. Behind the café are eleven hectares of new sports grounds owned by the City of Ghent. So after a match, it can get pretty crowded here.
Past Heusdenbrug, continue cycling along the other bank of the Scheldt towards Melle. Via the next Scheldt Bridge, you reach the centre of Melle, the village of Huyghe Brewery and its famous pink elephant beer Delirium Tremens. Order one at the one of the cafés just before the village, or on the terrace of Melle's most famous café, The Pink Elephant.
Via a bit of Merelbeke and the towpath along the Tijarm, you arrive in Zwijnaarde and a little further on in Parkbos, a new 'green oasis' with wooded areas, open landscapes, creek valleys, stately castle lanes and attractive cycling and walking paths between Sint-Denijs-Westrem, Zwijnaarde, De Pinte and Sint-Martens-Latem. Two new bicycle and pedestrian bridges will lead you across the R4 and E40 towards Ghent. You will arrive back at your starting point via De Pintelaan, the Citadel Park and the university district.