How to Take Yourself on a Tour to Find the Best Ghent Chocolate

Taste Ghent chocolate. Do a self-guided Ghent chocolate tour. Find the best chocolate in Ghent at chocolate shops like Yuzu Chocolate Ghent.

Belgian Chocolate is famous the world over. Belgium's obsession with chocolate dates back to the 19th Century, when cocoa beans were shipped to Europe from The Congo, Belgium's new African colony. In 1912, Jean Neuhaus invented the praline, a chocolate shell surrounding a soft, filled centre. Neuhaus and Leonidas are two of Belgium's most famous chocolatiers. Of course, you can find both Neuhaus and Leonidas (multiple locations of each, in fact) in Ghent. However, for this post, we'll focus on Ghent's local artisanal chocolate shops. Read on and plot a course to take yourself on a self-guided walking tour to experience some of the best Ghent chocolate.

Map of Ghent Chocolate Shops

The opening hours of the chocolate shops in Ghent vary considerably. Some shops are open 7 days a week while others are closed 1-2 days a week. Make sure to check opening hours on Google Maps before embarking on your Ghent chocolate tasting adventure. I'd recommend setting out on your Ghent chocolate tour after lunch to maximize the number of shops likely to be open. Click on the image of the map below to open up an interactive version in Google maps to help you discover different Ghent chocolate shops and plan your personal Ghent chocolate excursion.

How to Sample the Best Ghent Chocolate

Most Belgian chocolate shops sell pre-prepared boxes for a fixed price. If you want to maximize the amount and variety of chocolate that you sample on your trip to Ghent, I recommend another approach. Most Ghent chocolate shops allow you to buy pralines by the piece from eye-catching displays. You'll either pay a fixed price per chocolate or pay by weight. I ordered between 4 and 6 pralines at each Ghent chocolate shop that I visited.

A Tour of Ghent's Best Chocolate Shops

The artisanal chocolate shops in Ghent each have their own specialties and indeed their own personalities. Let's look at some of the best Ghent chocolate shops to add to your tour. If you don't have time to stop at all of them, use the guide below to help you pick and choose based on your flavour preferences.

Marijn Coertjens

I started my self-guided tour of Ghent chocolates furthest afield at Marijn Coertjens. It's billed as a pastry shop, but they have a fantastic array of pralines. I picked out 5 chocolates named after animals. Each praline was intricately decorated in the coat of the animal it represented. 

I tried the Leopard (coffee), Zebra (vanilla ganache), Macaw (lime ganache), Tiger (Indian Chai Tea ganache), and Black Panther (passionfruit ganache) at Marijn Coertjens. 

Cost: 5.50 EUR for 5 pralines, 1.10 EUR per chocolate

Daskalidès

Next up, I walked to Daskalidès which takes about 15 minutes from Marijn Coertjens on foot. Here I found friendly staff and larger pralines in a wide range of flavours. I selected a single origin dark chocolate from Uganda and a speculoos chocolate (speculoos is a spicy short crust biscuit that is famous in Belgium). In addition, I opted for a praline filled with pepper ganache, and a dark chocolate caramel.

Cost: 2.52 EUR for 4 chocolates, 0.63 EUR per chocolate

Chocolaterie Vandenbouhede

Vandenbouhede Chocolatier is literally around the corner from Daskalidès and is the logical third stop on this Ghent chocolate tour. Unique shapes and intricate decorations appeared to be their thing. I bought a skull filled with beetroot honey, a Bailey's Tiki head, an orange milk chocolate, and The Italian (dark chocolate, amaretto, coffee).

Cost: 3.70 EUR for 4 chocolates, 0.92 EUR per chocolate

Yuzu by Nicolas Vanaise and C.

It takes about 6 minutes to walk from Chocolaterie Vandenbouhede to Yuzu chocolate in Ghent. Yuzu chocolates are sold as elegant rectangles with bold and unusual flavours like Eleonora with wood and tobacco. The India Song praline was flavoured with white pepper, cardamon, and anis seed. The Temple of Heaven was inflused with Lapsang Souchong and Jasmine tea. Sana'a tasted of a mix of coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, and frankincense. The Tommaso praline took the flavour in a different direction with balsamic vinegar. I'm pretty sure the owner himself took my order!

Cost: 5.50 EUR for 6 chocolates, 0.92 EUR per chocolate

Joost Arijs

Walk another 7 minutes from Yuzu chocolate to Joost Arijs, the 5th stop on my tour of the best Ghent chocolate. Here I found a small but mighty selection! I picked out 4 half-domes including Kumquat with kumquat ganache and saffron caramel; the Trop Bon praline which was flavoured with salted peanut, vanilla, and caramel; Agrum with dark chocolate ganache, Cointreau, lemon and orange plus mandarin jelly; and Desir with Cointreau ganache and raspberry. In contrast to other Ghent chocolate shops that I've covered so far, you can only buy boxes of chocolates in multiples of 2. 

Cost: 7 EUR for 2 boxes of 2, 1.75 EUR per chocolate

SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Looking for other cool things to do on a trip to Belgium? Why not: experience Brussels like a local. buy a Belgium Rail Pass and head from Brussels to Antwerp or spend one day in Mons? visit Bruges for Christmas and take a day trip from Bruges to Ypres to explore WWI history?  drink some of the best Belgian beer in Belgium?

Chocolatier Deduytschaever

My next Ghent chocolate stop was Chocolatier Deduytschaever. We had eyed this one a few times over the weekend, but it was closed Whit Sunday and Monday. I'm happy to say that Chocolatier Deduytschaever was open on Tuesday when I did my self-guided Ghent chocolate tour. My selection of pralines included: Sao Tome and Kumabo (I'm told it's a cross between orange and lemon). 

Cost: 3.60 EUR for 4 pieces, 0.90 EUR per chocolate

Chocolaterie Luc Van Hoorebeke

Chocolaterie Luc Van Hoorebeke is about a 2 minute walk from St. Bavos Cathedral. Finish your tour here if you plan to use CityCard Gent to book a virtual reality tour of the Ghent Altarpiece. 

Van Hoorebeke pralines were definitely creative! Yuzu, lemongrass, and passionfruit with nut butter were a few of the highlights.

Cost: 4 EUR for 6 pieces, 0.67 EUR per chocolate

Sophie's Sweets and Chocolates

Time for the final stop on our self-guided Ghent chocolate tour! I tried an eclectic mix of chocolates with flavours like blueberry, caramel, orange, and a boozy marzipan all enrobed in dark Belgian chocolate. I went back to Sophie's a second time and picked up a number of pralines infused with alcohol. If you like a tipple from time to time, these chocolates are just the thing.

Cost: 3 EUR for 6 pieces, 0.50 EUR per chocolate

SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Looking for other places to try Belgian chocolates? Make sure to try Pierre Marcolini and Elisabeth Chocolatier on a layover in Brussels and most definitely go on an extended tour of the chocolate in Bruges.

The Best Chocolate in Ghent

So what's the verdict on the best chocolate you'll find on a day out in Ghent? I think it depends on what you prioritize. My top prizes in various categories are:

• Most Creative Presentation: Chocolaterie Vandenbouhede for the exquisite chocolate skull
• Most Unusual Flavours: Yuzu Chocolate Ghent for coming up with wood and tobacco among many other unique combinations
• Best Value for Money: Sophie's at 0.50 EUR each for delightfully boozy pralines
• Biggest Surprise: Marijn Coertjens. I was skeptical that a pastisserie could also sell top-notch Belgian pralines, but I was proven wrong. So good!

Did you enjoy this post about how to take yourself on a Ghent chocolate tour? Sharing is caring...