Interesting, I know that prices (everywhere) seem to be going up through the roof, not surprised that Belgium (Ghent) is part of this. Ghent not being the capital but a reasonably wealthy second city has never been crazy expensive but Brussels has always been that way because of the Eurocrat salaries. I have a friend who lives in Wiesbaden (Germany) come to visit me earlier this year (I am in Sydney) and we compared notes on what things cost. She had just visited New Zealand and had complete sticker shock and found Sydney to be outrageously expensive too, but she said prices in Germany were going up as well, especially petrol. Prices here have risen 14% for a trolley of groceries in the last 2 years. So if Ghent is now expensive, for me it's part of that unfortunate world trend... or maybe it's just the Gentse Feesten?

Are prices going up where you live?

Lavandula

We were in Bruges in August 2022 and it was pretty crowded even in the evenings and early mornings. I was quite disappointed, and happy I’d decided on only one night and allotted the second one to Amsterdam. This was our 4th or 5th visit to Bruges, starting the mid eighties, but I don’t think I will go back again. Unfortunately tourism has taken over, but that’s the trend worldwide!

I generally find Belgium quite expensive for restaurants. This may be caused by high cost of labour, which are among the highest in Europe. Inflation also automatically leads to higher wagers due to mechanisms that link the two. At least taxes and service are included in the bill. Prices in Gent are similar to other cities in Belgium. There are some brasserie type restaurants near us, nothing special, they charge about 39 euro for a filet steak with fries. At least tax and service are included.
Funny how tourists complain about other tourists. So others had the same idea to visit Brugge. How dare they ;)