By air
Ghent is only 50 minutes from the international airport of Zaventem ‘Brussels National Airport’, where flights arrive from and depart to more than 70 destinations.
On the lowest level you will find the airport’s own railway station, Brussel-Nationaal-Luchthaven, accessible by lift and escalator from the arrivals hall. There are several connections to Ghent (the name of the station is Gent-Sint-Pieters; trains will have Ghent (Gent), Bruges (Brugge), Ostend (Oostende) as final destination. There are trains every twenty or so minutes.
Charleroi / aka Brussels South airport is located 60 kilometers south of Brussels, and it will take ca. 90 minutes to get to Ghent. There are more than 20 bus connections from the airport to the capital (Brussels South Train Station, Brussel Zuid / Bruxelles Midi) every day. From there frequent train connections to Ghent are available. There are also bus connections from the airport to Charleroi-Sud railway station. Trains for Ghent can also be boarded there. A ticket combining the bus and train services can be purchased at the Airport Ticket Desk.
The other Belgian airports (Ostend, Antwerp and Liège) receive flights from various European cities and have easy direct train-connections to Ghent.
By train
Ghent is easy to reach by train from all Belgian and European cities and is only half an hour from Brussels South Station.
The two main stations in Ghent are:
Gent-Sint-Pieters Station
From here tram no. 1 will take you direct to the city centre, temporary stop ‘Korenmarkt’
Visitors arriving in Ghent by train at the Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station can browse information at a digital 3D information point.
Dampoort Station
From here, buses 3, 17, 18, 38 and 39 will also take you direct to the city, stop ‘Korenmarkt’.
From Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station you can reach the station Brussel Zuid in half an hour (by ‘IC’ Inter City or ‘IR’ InterRegio train). Here the Eurostar and Thalys high-speed trains can rush you to Paris (1½ hours) and London, Amsterdam or Cologne (2½ hours).
International Coaches
Eurolines runs daily coach services to more than 500 destinations in Europe. Ghent is one of them. You can book your journey at the website www.eurolines.com/.
Shuttle bus to and from Charleroi Airport
Nine times a day a shuttle bus travels between Charleroi Airport and Bruges via Ghent, making our city more accessible to tourists visiting Flanders via Charleroi Airport.
The bus service is offered by Flibco.com, a company specialised in transport to city-trip destinations from transport hubs.
The bus stops near the Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station, where you can easily hop onto tram no. 1 and head to the historical city centre.
You can book a seat on www.flibco.com
INFORMATION FROM http://www.visitgent.be/en/how-get-ghent
Lille Airport: situated in France, ca. 80 kilometers from Ghent
Shuttle bus at
At Lille: the Lille Airport Shuttle parks in front of the main entrance of the Euralille shopping centre, in the immediate vicinity of the train station and the “Lille Flanders” metro/tram station
At the airport, the Lille Airport Shuttle stop is situated in the drop-off zone, at the level of entrance door A, near the check-in desks and Departures zone.
Information from : http://www.lille.aeroport.fr/getting-to-the-airport/shuttle/
DIRECT TRAINS TO LILLE WITH THALYS, EUROSTAR, TGV® AND INTERCITY
FROM BELGIUM
Direct trains to Lille Europe with Thalys departing from Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi (Brussels) and Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp), or with Eurostar and the trains of TGV® Brussels-France departing from Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi (Brussels). Direct trains to Lille Flandres with InterCity departing from Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp), Kortrijk, Tournai and Namur. Or connecting trains domestically in Belgium (with the Any Belgian Station fare).
Information from: https://www.b-europe.com/Travel/Destinations/Lille
Intercontinental colleagues might contemplate the airports of Amsterdam (Schiphol) and Paris (Charles De Gaulle) where one can board high speed trains to Brussels.
Visa
https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/EN/Pages/home.aspx
Currency
The unit of currency in Belgium is the Euro (EUR). Foreign currency can easily be exchanged at the airport or at one of the many exchange bureaus in Brussels or Ghent. Also there are plenty of ATMs available for cash withdrawals (but please check with your bank concerning fees). Both debit and credit cards are widely used in Belgium at most hotels, restaurants, museums, and retail stores. All major credit cards are accepted, including VISA, MasterCard, American Express.