Ghent is the Belgian city that locals half-hope you will overlook in favor of its prettier neighbor down the road, because they rather like having it to themselves. It is every bit as beautiful as Bruges, with a skyline of medieval towers, a set of gorgeous canal-side quays, and a genuine moated castle, but it is bigger, livelier, and full of students, so it feels like a real working city rather than a museum. This self-guided Ghent walking tour threads the medieval core of it, and it is among the most rewarding self-guided walking tours in Flanders, under two kilometers and flat the whole way. Wear comfortable shoes for the cobbles, bring a layer for the changeable weather, and give the old town a slow half day.

Before you set off

Give yourself two or three hours at an easy pace, more if you climb the belfry or go inside the cathedral to see its famous altarpiece, and much more if you stop for the local beer and fries as you should. The old town is small, flat, and entirely walkable, but it is all cobbles, so wear comfortable shoes. Ghent weather is famously changeable, grey and drizzly one hour and bright the next, so bring a layer and something for rain and do not let a shower put you off, since the city looks wonderful under a moody sky. Everything on this route sits within a few hundred meters, and the three great towers act as landmarks you can always navigate by, so feel free to wander off down any tempting lane and find your way back. Try to see the quays at least once in the evening, when the whole medieval waterfront is beautifully floodlit and the reflections double it in the water. And do stop for the city's own pleasures as you go, a strong Belgian beer, a cone of fries with mayonnaise, and a local sweet called a cuberdon, all of which Ghent does very well.

St. Bavo's Cathedral

Start at St. Bavo's Cathedral, the great Gothic church at the eastern end of the old town's spine of towers, a soaring building of grey stone that holds one of the most important paintings in the world. This is the home of the Ghent Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, painted by the Van Eyck brothers six hundred years ago, a huge and dazzling multi-panel work that helped launch the whole tradition of oil painting and is among the most stolen and coveted artworks in history. Even if you do not go in to see it, the cathedral itself is worth a slow look, its plain exterior giving onto a rich interior of chapels and tombs. It stands on one side of a handsome square, facing the belfry across the way, the first of the famous three towers that line up along the old town. Take in the cathedral, then turn to the tall tower rising just across the square, the symbol of the city's medieval power.

Belfry of Ghent

Across the square rises the Belfry of Ghent, a tall medieval bell tower that is the proud symbol of the city and, at over ninety meters, the tallest of its three great towers. For centuries it was the watchtower and treasure house of the townsfolk, its bells ringing out to mark the hours, warn of danger, and proclaim the rights and freedoms of the citizens, and a gilded dragon has guarded its summit for six hundred years. Inside are the great bells and the old town charters, and you can ride a lift most of the way up to a viewing gallery near the top for a wonderful panorama over the red roofs and the other towers. Along with the belfries of the region it is recognized as a world heritage site, a monument to the independence and wealth of the medieval Flemish cities. Look up at the dragon and the great clock, then continue westward along the line of towers, toward the third and final church of the trio, standing where the old market began.

Saint Nicholas' Church

Ghent Graslei medieval houses A little further along stands Saint Nicholas' Church, the third of the three towers and for many the most beautiful, a magnificent early Gothic church of blue-grey local stone with a lantern tower rising from its center. It was the church of the medieval merchants and guilds, built right beside the old market and the harbor, and its central tower once served the town as a watchtower before the belfry was raised. The three towers of Ghent, the cathedral, the belfry, and this church, line up almost in a row along the old town's spine, a skyline unlike any other, and you have now walked the length of it. The interior is high and pale and calm, worth a look inside if it is open. The church sits at the edge of the Korenmarkt, the old corn market that was the commercial heart of the town, which opens out just beyond it. Walk around the church and into the broad square beyond, the historic center of the city's trade.