How about going for a bike ride in Belgium? Not everywhere is perfect. But Ghent has got it just about right. So rent a bike and set off down the River Leie on quiet cycle paths that avoid the busy roads.
After twenty minutes of gentle cycling, you are out in the countryside surrounded by quiet villages and watery meadows. The route sometimes follow the meandering River Leie through a landscape that looks like the Thames in England or the Vecht in the Netherlands.
There are cafés along the way like Onder drie Linden in Afsnee where you can sit by the water watching the boats go past.
You can easily figure out a route on the routeplanner fietset.be.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
