Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Langemunt and Veldstraat are the major shopping streets. Smart fashion boutiques cluster along Voldersstraat, while Brabantdam and Vlaanderenstraat serve up a couture blizzard of designer stores. Plenty of vintage, antiques, and secondhand shopping is to be found in Oudberg and the area around Sint-Jacobskirk, on Serpentstraat, Baudelostraat, and Ottgracht. But for something a little different, there are an increasing number of artisan food shops worth exploring in Ghent, from the Gruut Brewery (see Nightlife) to some local gems that have been perfecting their recipes for hundreds of years.
Part of a family business since 1904, Temmerman eschews Belgium's chocolate obsession for locally made artisanal candy and gingerbread. The family is also credited with inventing what is now the famous Ghent cuberdons (Ghent noses): raspberry-flavored sweets, the insides of which stretch out like cooked mozzarella when pulled apart.
You'll find this revered and strong-tasting mustard served all over the city, but you can only buy it here, along with a dazzling array of spices, pickles, honeys, and teas. This family-run shop has been in Ghent since 1790, and no preservatives are used in their products.
