Ghent
Ghent
+ Ghent
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Sights
* Aalst
* Bruges
* Antwerp
* Flower District
* River Leie at Drongen
* Merelbeke
* The Castle of Ooidonk
* Along the Leie near St Martens-Latem and Afsnee
* Ostend
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
This small carnival town on the banks of the Dender is often mistakenly overlooked as a tourist attraction. Nevertheless without a doubt Aalst has the most splendid medieval bell tower still completely intact and it contains the world's oldest carillon. The small market square with its bell tower and the arcaded Borse van Amsterdam market make a visit to this town well worthwhile.
In Aalst, like many Flemish towns, there are printing works but what is unusual is that here Dirk Martens set up the first printing press in the Low Countries. The former hospital is now a museum where many old printing presses are on display.
The St Martinuskerk, the largest church in Belgium before it was damaged by fire, houses innumerable works of art (including a Rubens) and a golden line runs across the church. The sun strikes this line precisely at 12 noon.
The town has become better known since the filming of the book Pieter Daens by Louis Paul Boon (a local man) and people have made their way to the Daens Museum where the struggle of the workers for a better life is illustrated by means of displays of photographs and documents.
But above all Aalst is the carnival town. Every year before the beginning of Lent the town erupts in a great celebration that is not always appreciated by every outsider. To many visitors the local people seem to behave in a vulgar fashion and to be having too much fun at the expense of others.
There are plenty of other reasons for visiting this 19th-century industrial town. If you are a gourmet and have a sweet tooth go for the 'Aalst Flan'. Book-lovers see a visit as a pilgrimage in honour of the author Louis Paul Boon and, in the little village of Erembodegem, they can look for the Kapellekensbaan, the street which gave its name to his most famous book, Little Chapel Road.
Accessible: Aalst is 23km from Ghent and by car is best approached via the E40 towards Brussels. Between 5am and 11pm two trains an hour leave St Pietersstation.
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