Ghent nightlife by neighbourhood: which area suits your night, from the Vlasmarkt and the Old Town to the Overpoort student strip and the techno clubs at the docks.
Ghent nightlife is spread across six areas, and each one suits a different night. The Vlasmarkt is the centre of it, with Charlatan, Kinky Star and Funke a minute apart. The Old Town around the Graslei and the Vrijdagmarkt is for beer, cocktails and blues, and the Patershol and the Groentenmarkt add jenever and free jazz. The Overpoort is the student strip, with more than 35 cafés in one street. De Vooruit and the Wintercircus by the Zuid host big event nights, and the Oude Dokken near Dampoort hold the techno clubs that run until 07:00.
The centre is walkable, but the trams stop around 02:15 on Friday and Saturday, so it helps to know where you will end the night. This guide covers what each area is like, where to go and who it suits.
If you have one night in Ghent, spend it here. Visit Gent calls the Vlasmarkt the epicentre of the city's nightlife, and the square earns it: three of the best rooms in the city are a minute apart. Charlatan is the big one, a graffiti-covered bar and club with a terrace, gigs and DJ nights. It opens from 22:00 Tuesday to Saturday, from 20:00 on concert nights, and is closed on Sunday and Monday. Felix van Groeningen's film Belgica, about a Ghent bar that becomes everyone's late-night home, was filmed here.
Across the square, Kinky Star is a volunteer-run music centre with more than 300 bands a year; most gigs start at 20:00 or 21:00 and are free. For the late part, Funke sits beside Sint-Jacobs church and runs techno and electronic nights from 23:00 to 07:00 for about €12. The square was a meeting place for hippies in the 1970s and grew into the hub of Ghent's nightlife from around 2000. Visit Gent also points to Club 69 on the neighbouring Oude Beestenmarkt, where Belgian DJs play electronic and urban sets. The Vlasmarkt is under ten minutes on foot from the Graslei, so it suits anyone staying in the centre. It does not suit anyone who wants quiet streets at 03:00, and on weekend mornings the flea market at Sint-Jacobs is setting up as the last people leave.
The Old Town is the postcard part of Ghent, and its bars start earlier than anywhere else. On the Vrijdagmarkt, De Dulle Griet has more than 500 beers and one famous ritual: the one-litre Max glass, which costs you a shoe as deposit until you bring it back. It opens at noon from Tuesday to Saturday and closes at 01:00. On the Graslei, The Cobbler is the cocktail bar of the 1898 The Post hotel, in the former post office, with views over the old centre.
Near the Lys, Missy Sippy is a blues and roots juke joint open daily from 14:00, with concerts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. For dancing, Club Sauvage is around the corner from the Korenmarkt, with funk, house, disco and italo every Friday and Saturday from 22:30 to 04:30 and a 20+ door. On the Hoogstraat, Hotsy Totsy, founded by the Claus brothers, still hosts jazz, chanson and poetry nights. The Korenmarkt is the main tram stop in the centre and has a taxi rank. The Old Town suits a first night, a beer crawl and anyone staying centrally. It does not suit people after big techno rooms, and the canal-side terraces fill with visitors on summer evenings.
The Patershol and the Groentenmarkt sit side by side by the Lys, and the drinking here is about quality rather than volume. On the Groentenmarkt, 't Dreupelkot pours 215 kinds of jenever, about 50 of them made in house. A few doors away, Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant has 165 beers, three house brews and a terrace on the water. In a narrow alley off the same square, opposite the old meat hall, Hot Club Gent has put on free jazz since 2005, from Sunday to Thursday between September and May. There are no reservations, so arrive early.
On the Oudburg, on the edge of the Patershol, Jigger's is the city's serious cocktail bar: seasonal drinks made with produce from its own farm, seats by the water downstairs, and walk-ins only for groups of up to six. Most cocktails cost €12–17. The quarter has its own street party too, the Patershol festivities in mid-August, held from 14 to 16 August in 2026. This area suits a slower night of good drinks and live music, and it is a few minutes on foot from the Korenmarkt. It does not suit anyone who wants to dance: there is no club here.
Ghent has more than 66,000 students, and the Overpoort is where they go out. The Overpoortstraat, south of the centre, has more than 35 cafés side by side, with chip shops, pita bars and night shops in between. Thursday is the student night and the busiest of the week in term time. Beer here is cheaper than in the old centre, and many of the cafés are free to enter.
The club on the strip is Decadance. It opened in 1996, built its name on house nights and I Love Techno afterparties, and is back on Resident Advisor in 2026 with trance and techno afterhours from 23:00 to 06:00 for about €10; bring a €2 coin for the lockers. Visit Gent also points to Bar Jan Cremer, a coffee, lunch and cocktail bar that doubles as a student hangout. The Overpoort is about 20 minutes on foot from the Vlasmarkt. It suits students and anyone on a tight budget. It does not suit a quiet drink, it can get rowdy late at night, and it is best to stay with your group and agree on a meeting point.
De Vooruit on Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat was built in 1913 as a festival hall for the socialist workers' movement. In the 1990s it became the home of Free the Funk and then I Love Techno, whose first edition in 1995 had Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin and a little-known Daft Punk on the bill. The arts centre inside is now called VIERNULVIER, and it still runs big club nights: 30 Years of Kozzmozz with Len Faki and Speedy J in October 2026, for example, from 22:00 to 06:00.
A short walk away, Club Wintercircus opened in 2024 underneath the restored Wintercircus. It is run by VIERNULVIER and Democrazy, with immersive sound and 360° video, and its nights range from cabaret parties with drag to reggae, with tickets from about €12. Both are close to the Zuid (Woodrow Wilsonplein), which has a taxi rank. This area suits people who choose a night by the event rather than the venue. It does not suit a spontaneous night: check the calendars first, because neither runs a fixed weekly club.
The Oude Dokken, the old docks near Gent-Dampoort station, is where Ghent's biggest techno nights went. Kompass Klub reopened in October 2025 in a former textile factory on the Nieuwevaart and runs Friday and Saturday nights from 23:00 to 07:00, with tickets at €20–25 and names such as NTO and Stephan Bodzin. It was named best Belgian club at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards in 2018, and the door runs a zero-tolerance drugs policy.
Nearby, Chinastraat is a raw industrial site that Visit Gent calls the Mad Max of the city's nightlife, with techno and trance nights for €10–16, some of them with no door sale. Amigo, on Stapelplein, combines a restaurant with South American sharing plates and a cocktail bar with house nights from 22:00 to 06:00 and a 20+ door, so you can eat and dance in one place. The Oude Dokken suits a dedicated club night. It does not suit a bar crawl, and it is too far to walk back comfortably at 07:00, so use the taxi rank at Gent-Dampoort station.
For a weekend out, stay in the centre between the Korenmarkt and the Vlasmarkt. The Old Town, the Groentenmarkt and the Vlasmarkt are all within ten minutes of each other on foot, so you can walk home from most nights. If the docks are the plan, a base near Gent-Dampoort station puts Kompass Klub, Chinastraat and Amigo close by. The area around Gent-Sint-Pieters station and the Zuid suits Vooruit nights and early trains, and Brussels is about 30 minutes away by train. For the Gentse Feesten in July, book three to six months ahead. Compare hotels and hostels by area on our page of places to stay in Ghent.
Ghent works best when you keep the Old Town and the Groentenmarkt for the start of the night and pick the Vlasmarkt or the docks for the late part. For prices, closing times and transport in one place, read the full Ghent nightlife guide. If you are choosing a club, start with our ranked list of the 10 best clubs in Ghent.
The Vlasmarkt, with Charlatan, Kinky Star and Funke a minute apart. For beer and jazz, the Old Town and the Groentenmarkt. For techno, the Oude Dokken.
The Overpoort, a street of more than 35 cafés south of the centre. Thursday is the big student night in term time.
Kompass Klub and Chinastraat are at the Oude Dokken near Gent-Dampoort station, and Funke is beside the Vlasmarkt. All three run until 07:00 on club nights.
Trams run until about 02:15 on Friday and Saturday nights. There is no all-night bus, so after that you walk, cycle or take a taxi from the ranks at Korenmarkt, the Zuid, Gent-Sint-Pieters or Gent-Dampoort.
In the centre, between the Korenmarkt and the Vlasmarkt. Most bars and the Vlasmarkt clubs are within ten minutes on foot.
