A tour that should be a part of every visitor's itinerary is a boat ride along the canals. Open and covered boats, which feature a narrative commentary in several languages, depart from boat docks on Graslei, Korenlei, and Groentenmarkt. There's a variety of options, with tours lasting from 40 to 90 minutes. Frequency ranges from every 10 minutes daily during the busiest period in summer to a few tours per day on weekends in winter. Fares begin at 5€ ($6.25) for adults and 2.50€ ($3.15) for children under 12 for a basic tour, to 9€ ($11) for adults and 4.50€ ($5.65) for children under 12 for a longer tour. The tour companies are: Gent Watertourist (tel. 09/266-05-22; www.gent-watertoerist.be) for departures from Graslei; De Bootjes van Gent-Rederij Dewaele (tel. 09/223-88-53; www.debootjesvangent.be) for departures from Korenlei; and Rederij De Gentenaer (tel. 0477/36-48-20; www.degentenaer.be) for summer-only departures from Groentenmarkt.
On 1 evening a week during July and August, you can take a 5-hour dinner-dance cruise on the Leie River. This costs 37€ ($46) for adults and 27€ ($34) for children under 12, and advance booking is required. The cruises are operated by Benelux Rederij (tel. 09/225-15-05; www.benelux-rederij.com).
The tourist office can arrange qualified guides for private walking tours, at a charge of 50€ ($63) for the first 2 hours (Mon-Fri) and 25€ ($31) for each additional hour. Also ask them about organized group-walking tours sometimes conducted during summer months at a fee of 6€ ($7.50) for adults and free for children under 12 (admission to see The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb included).
From Easter to October horse-drawn carriages (tel. 09/227-62-46) that seat up to five people depart from Sint-Baafsplein from 10am to 6pm for half-hour rides that cost 25€ ($31) per carriage.
