The Patershol District

The Patershol district

The Ghent audio-guided tour invites you to stroll in the Patershol district, at the gates of the Castle of the Counts, where all the medieval soul of the city is concentrated.

A city within the city

A veritable city within the city, the Patershol gives the effect of a journey in time with its narrow cobbled lanes and its dwellings designed in the Middle Ages. Residential since its origins, the district has reflected many faces according to the social classes that inhabited it: first the weaver workers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, then the bourgeois. It then knew a clear decline, its streets mixing brothels and disreputable cafés, to the point of being neglected. A revaluation plan has happily given it back its popular atmosphere and its old-world charm: lined with cafés, restaurants and small shops, the Patershol has become again one of the most sought-after districts of Ghent.

What there is to see

The Patershol district is discovered along its cobbled lanes, its medieval houses and its small squares, in a timeless atmosphere. One pushes the door of a restaurant, one strolls between shops and cafés. Authentic and full of charm, it is one of the most endearing corners of Ghent, ideal for feeling the medieval soul of the city.

Practical information

The Patershol district is near the Castle of the Counts, in the historic centre of Ghent. Its lanes can be walked freely on foot at all hours; cafés, restaurants and shops follow their own hours.

Who inhabited the Patershol district over time?

First the weaver workers, then the bourgeois; after a period of decline, the district recovered its appeal thanks to a revaluation plan.

Why visit the Patershol?

For its preserved medieval atmosphere, its cobbled lanes and its many cafés, restaurants and shops.