The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste.

Inhabitants consider their hometown to be a "Weireldstad" (metropolis), which also led to a monthly "Harelbekedag" amongst the students of Harelbeke studying in Ghent.

[citation needed] In Harelbeke a museum remembers the life and work of musician and composer Peter Benoit, called the Peter Benoit Huis.

[2] This cemetery is located just outside the downtown of Harelbeke and was designed by Willian Harrison Cowlishaw[3] and contains the graves of 1126 Commonwealth soldiers who died during WWI (1055 from the UK, 26 from Canada, 7 from Australia, 4 from South Africa and 3 from Newfoundland).

In addition 10 British soldiers who died during WWII are buried here.