[dropcap custom_class=”normal”]T[/dropcap]he day after we visited Bruges, we went to Ghent, another medieval city in the Flanders area of Belgium. It still has the same gothic charm as Bruges, but with the hustle and bustle of a real city with people who aren’t tourists. It’s also much bigger and we didn’t anticipate the walk from the train station to be as long as it was. (Definitely take a bus or tram to the city center if you visit.)

We spent most of the afternoon poking around the canal and side streets, but did manage to check off two cultural must-sees:

• Belfort en Lakenhalle: This is the building in the last photo of this post. We went up to balcony under the clock for fantastic views of the city. Inside you’ll see the historic dragon weather vane and, if you’re a beer drinker, you’ll recognize it from the Gulden Draak label. Learn more about the building’s cultural importance here.
• Sint-Baafskathedraal: Inside this elaborate cathedral is perhaps one of the world’s most influential paintings: The Ghent Altarpiece. Commonly known as Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, the work by van Eyck also has the misfortune of being one of the world’s most stolen pieces of art. (A panel is still missing from a 1934 heist.) I urge you to read about its storied–and fascinating–history here.