The 10 best clubs in Ghent, ranked: Kompass Klub, Charlatan, VIERNULVIER, Funke and more, with entry prices, closing times and who should skip each one.
The best clubs in Ghent are split between two parts of the city. In the centre, the Vlasmarkt packs Charlatan, Funke and Kinky Star into one small square, and De Vooruit, the 1913 festival hall where I Love Techno began, still runs big club nights. Out at the Oude Dokken, Kompass Klub and Chinastraat put on techno in industrial buildings until 07:00.
This list ranks the ten rooms worth your night, with what we could verify for each: the entry price, how late it runs, what the door asks and one honest reason to skip it. The basics first. Most clubs are 18+, two are 20+, and entry is usually €10–20. The centre is walkable, but the trams stop around 02:15 on Friday and Saturday, so a night at the docks ends with a taxi.
We ranked clubs on five things: sound, crowd, door, late licence and value. Sound means a room built for dancing rather than a bar with speakers. Crowd means people who came for the music. Door means how predictable entry is and what it asks of you, from age limits to advance tickets. Late licence means how long the night runs, which in Ghent can mean 07:00. Value compares the ticket with what you get. Every club here has nights listed for 2026, and every price, time and address comes from the venue, Resident Advisor or Visit Gent. We do not sell tickets ourselves.
Ghent's flagship techno club, now in a former textile factory on the Nieuwevaart near Dampoort, with bookings such as NTO and Stephan Bodzin and nights from 23:00 to 07:00. It was named best Belgian club at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards in 2018. Skip it if you want to walk home: it is outside the old centre and the trams stop long before it closes.
The graffiti-covered heart of the Vlasmarkt, open from 22:00 Tuesday to Saturday with gigs, comedy and DJ nights, and free on many of them. It is where a night in the centre naturally ends up. Skip it if you want a proper club room: it is a packed bar first and a dance floor second.
De Vooruit is where I Love Techno began in 1995, and VIERNULVIER still fills its halls with nights such as 30 Years of Kozzmozz with Len Faki and Speedy J. The building alone makes the ticket worth it. Skip it if you want a weekly club: it runs events, so the calendar decides.
A bar that turns into a club beside Sint-Jacobs church, with techno and electronic nights from 23:00 to 07:00 for about €12. It is the obvious next stop after Charlatan or a gig at Kinky Star. Skip it if you want headliners: the bookings are local and underground.
An industrial site at the Oude Dokken that Visit Gent calls the Mad Max of the city's nightlife, with techno and trance nights until 06:00 or 07:00 for €10–16. It feels less like a normal club than anywhere else in Ghent. Skip it if you want comfort or a walk home.
A small, renovated club near the Korenmarkt from the team behind Studio Bonheur, playing funk, house, disco and italo every Friday and Saturday. Some nights hand the whole evening to one DJ. Skip it if you are under 20 or want to dance past 04:30.
Opened in 2024 below the Wintercircus by the Zuid and run by VIERNULVIER and Democrazy, with immersive sound and 360° projection. The programme swings from cabaret parties with drag to reggae. Skip it if you want a predictable weekly night.
A restaurant, cocktail bar and club in one on Stapelplein at the Old Docks, with house nights such as Back To Wax from 22:00 to 06:00 for €15. It is the easiest way to make dinner and dancing one plan. Skip it if you are under 20 or came for dark techno.
A volunteer-run music centre on the Vlasmarkt with more than 300 bands a year, most of them free, and party nights after the gigs. It is the cheapest good night in the city. Skip it if you want a dance club first and a gig second.
The Overpoort club that opened in 1996 and became the I Love Techno afterparty is back on Resident Advisor in 2026, with €10 trance and techno afterhours from 23:00 to 06:00. It is the one real club on the student strip. Skip it if you want a calm street outside: the Overpoort is loud late at night.
Plan the night in two halves. The centre is the easy part: Kinky Star, Charlatan and Funke are a minute apart on the Vlasmarkt, and Club Sauvage, near the Korenmarkt, is under ten minutes away on foot. Decadance is about twenty minutes south in the Overpoort, and VIERNULVIER and Club Wintercircus sit by the Zuid.
The docks are the other half. Kompass Klub, Chinastraat and Amigo are near Gent-Dampoort station, too far to walk comfortably at five in the morning. Go by bike or taxi, and use the taxi rank at Gent-Dampoort to get back. If you start in the centre, remember that the last trams on Friday and Saturday leave around 02:15, and a taxi costs €10 plus €2.60 per kilometre, with a €3 supplement at night.
Ghent is easy to do well: keep a free gig or a beer bar for the start, pick the Vlasmarkt or the docks for the late part, and know how you are getting home. For prices, closing times and transport in one place, read our full Ghent nightlife guide. To choose where to drink before the club, our guide to Ghent nightlife by neighbourhood goes area by area. For ticketed nights and events, see NightFind tickets. Staying in Belgium longer? Brussels is about half an hour away by train.
Kompass Klub, for its bookings and its late nights. It was named best Belgian club at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards in 2018 and runs on Friday and Saturday from 23:00 to 07:00.
Kompass Klub, Funke and Chinastraat run until 07:00 on club nights, VIERNULVIER and Amigo until 06:00, and Club Sauvage until 04:30.
Usually €10–20. Decadance and Funke cost about €10–12, Amigo €15 and Kompass €20–25 for a big name. Most Kinky Star gigs are free.
18+ at most clubs, and they check ID. Amigo and Club Sauvage are 20+.
At the Oude Dokken, where Kompass Klub and Chinastraat sit near Gent-Dampoort station, and at Funke beside the Vlasmarkt.
