Practical Information
1. Conference venue
Augustijnen Klooster
Address: Augustijnen Klooster, Academiestraat 1, 9000 Ghent - Belgium
Thagaste has everything to offer you a perfect meeting place for all your events. You can find the monastery in the centre of the city, less than 5 minutes’ walk from the Korenmarkt, the Cathedral, the UNESCO-protected Graslei, and the Belfry.
Thagaste is located in a unique monastery where monks still live and work. The beautifully restored inner courtyard at the heart of the monastery is a true oasis of peace. You also can use this courtyard to organise a sparkling reception where your guests can stroll along the perfectly pruned boxwood hedges.
Thagaste is more than just an event area. The monastery is also known for its unique and rich heritage. You will discover monumental paintings in the cloisters, and each conference room is decorated with artwork, gathered during the rich and long history of the monastery.
The monastery also owns a beautiful, historic library. And last but not least, there is the St. Stephen’s parish church with its monumental Baroque organ built in 1873 by Jean-Philippe Forrest.
Why the name - "Thagasta"
Augustine of Hippo was born in the city of Thagaste, now Souk Ahras, Algeria, in 354. After his studies and his journey to Italy, Augustine returned to Thagaste in 388, where he started a monastic project with friends in his family’s home. He divided his time during this contemplative period between praying, manual labour and studying. Talking and debating was the most important form of communication during that time. He only stayed four years in his hometown once he became bishop in Hippo (now the city of Annaba in Algeria).
Congress Venue:
Augustijnen Klooster
Academiestraat 1, 9000 Ghent
Belgium
Possibilities:
This beautiful cloister with it historic decorations is the perfect place for organising the reception for your guests or clients and is very suitable for a standing buffet, dinner or networking event.
The industry exhibition, the coffee breaks and the walking lunches will be organised in the beautiful corridors of the Augustijnen cloister in front of the room.
2. Getting to Ghent
Travel by plain
Information
Brussels airline
Fly to your convention with Brussels Airlines, member of the Lufthansa Group and a Star Alliance member. Brussels Airlines’ Official Carrier Program is designed to meet the needs of organizers and delegates of international conventions, be it congresses or conferences, mainly taking place in Belgium.
Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport (Zaventem) ±140 international and regional carriers serve Belgium’s International Airport, from more than 70 international cities. Ghent can easily be reached from the airport: By train: direct connection, every half hour, journey time: less than 1h By taxi: 45 minutes driving Private shuttles (taxi): ≠ € 60 one way At the airport we can provide a lounge to rest while waiting on the train or coach that will bring you to Ghent.
Travel by Train
Ghent is easy reachable by train (train station: Gent St. Pieters)
For travelling by train between European cities, see webtool:
Planning & tickets for trains in Belgium:
The CT-user Meeting has a sustainable travel policy,
so we urge you to come to Ghent in a sustainable way:
If you come by plain (as least preferable initiative), you can compensate CO2 emissions:
See webtool:
3 Getting to the conference venue
From the train station (Gent Sint-Pieters) to the conference venue:
Take Tram no. 1 until the stop " Rabot" there you need tto change to Tram no. 2
At the stop "Gravensteen" you will be in the centre of Ghent.
Congress Venue:
Augustijnen Klooster
Academiestraat 1, 9000 Ghent
4. Getting arround in Ghent
Ghent is a lively city and a student city. As the academic hasn’t started yet during the time of the conference, it will be calmer than usual. Still, many people in Ghent drive around in bikes, so as a pedestrian always look at when crossing a street.
Getting around in Ghent can be done easily, on foot, by bike (renting bikes: see at see-do/bike-point-gent-sint-pieters ) or by public transport (website trams and busses: https://www.delijn.be/en/routeplanner/ ). Parts of the city centre are car-free.
Info on getting around in Ghent: getting arround in Ghent
5 Hotel accommodation
Overview of hotels in Ghent
The city of Ghent has more than 2,000 Hotel rooms to offer. The local organsing committee can not, for obvious reasons , be involved in the booking process for your hotel room(s). However we have listed below the hotels that are situated in walking distance of the congress venue of the CT-user Meeting 2025. Because no hotel rooms are blocked for CT-users at this time and because the available rooms will have to be shared with tourists and delegates of other congresses, we strongly advise you to book your hotel accommodation as soon as possible
6. About Ghent
Ghent is a special place. It has three towers and the Ghent Altarpiece, a vibrant energy due to its many students, magnificent museums, medieval streets and countless cultural hotspots. This former industrial city at the rivers of the Scheldt and Leie is livelier than ever. Plenty of reason to spend some time exploring this gem. read more
7. Don't come to Ghent without.......
See you in Ghent !!!