Gent: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Gent is a city of 265,086 people in Belgium (Flanders), 10 m (33 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Brussels Airport (BRU), 56 km (35 mi) from the centre.
Key facts
Daylight in Gent runs from about 7 h 59 min a day in late December to 16 h 38 min in late June (computed for 51.05° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Gent is served by 5 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Brussels Airport (BRU), 56 km (35 mi) from the centre, whose 11,936-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST, 61 km), Lille Airport (LIL, 69 km), Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL, 84 km), Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 54 km).
Flights to Gent: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Gent · Driving and car hire
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- London, 272 km (United Kingdom) — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Paris, 263 km (France) — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Köln, 227 km (Germany) — flights · tours
- Brussels, 50 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Rotterdam, 110 km (The Netherlands) — buses · car rental · tours
- Amsterdam, 168 km (The Netherlands) — tours
- Frankfurt am Main, 366 km (Germany)
- Düsseldorf, 215 km (Germany)
- Essen, 234 km (Germany)
- Dortmund, 266 km (Germany)
Common questions
Which airport serves Gent?
Brussels Airport (BRU), 56 km (35 mi) from the centre, plus 4 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Gent?
About 265,086 people live in Gent (GeoNames).
What time zone is Gent in?
Europe/Brussels, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Gent?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Gent?
London (272 km), Paris (263 km), Köln (227 km), Brussels (50 km), Rotterdam (110 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.