Belgium is frequently reduced to Brussels (the EU capital) and chocolate (with truffles). The Belgian cities of Bruges and Ghent — both in the Flemish-speaking north (Flanders) — are among the best-preserved medieval city centres in Northern Europe, with a cultural density that rivals any city their size on the continent.
Bruges
Bruges (Dutch: Brugge; population 120,000) was the most important commercial city in Northern Europe in the 14th and early 15th centuries — the centre of the Flemish cloth trade, and the first major international commodity market (futures trading for wool was developed here in the Middle Ages). Then the Zwin estuary silted up, cutting the city off from the sea, and Bruges slowly faded while Antwerp rose. The result: an extraordinarily well-preserved medieval city centre, protected by UNESCO since 2000. The Markt: the central market square, surrounded by the Gothic Provinciaal Hof and the Belfry (Belfort) — a 83m tower from which the bells marked time for the commercial city. 366 steps to the top; the carillon (47 bells) plays every quarter-hour. The Burg: the adjacent square — the administrative heart, with the Basilica of the Holy Blood (Heilig Bloedbasiliek) which claims to hold a relic of Christ’s blood brought by Crusaders in the 12th century. The Basilica is divided into two superimposed chapels: the lower Romanesque (12th century) and upper Gothic (15th century). The Groeningemuseum: the essential museum for Flemish Primitive painting — the collection includes masterpieces by Jan van Eyck (who spent much of his career in Bruges — “The Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele” is here), Hans Memling, and Rogier van der Weyden. The canals: Bruges’s network of canals (much photographed from the Rozenhoedkaai viewpoint) are partly medieval drainage channels, partly tourist infrastructure — boat tours from €12. The city is very small (the old city is walkable in 30 minutes) and extremely touristy in summer — day-trippers from Amsterdam, Lille, and London overwhelm it July–August. The recommendation: come in autumn or winter, or stay overnight and explore in the morning before the tour buses arrive.
Ghent
Ghent (Dutch: Gent; population 265,000; metro area 600,000) is often described as “Bruges without the tourists” — a genuinely lived-in city that has a world-class medieval heritage while functioning as a major university city (Ghent University — 45,000 students — is one of the largest in Belgium). The difference: Bruges is a museum; Ghent is a city. The Ghent Altarpiece (Mystic Lamb, Het Lam Gods): the single most important panel painting in art history, now fully restored and displayed in the St Bavo’s Cathedral. Completed by Hubert and Jan van Eyck (started before 1420, completed 1432), it is the first major oil painting in Western art, the first major naturalistic depiction of the human figure, and was stolen by Napoleon, the German Empire (twice), and Hitler — each time being returned. The Just Judges panel (bottom left) was stolen in 1934 and has never been recovered — the current displayed panel is a 1945 copy. Gravensteen Castle: a 12th-century moated castle in the centre of the city (the original seat of the Counts of Flanders) — admission gives access to a small torture museum (more humorous than horrifying). Korenlei and Graslei: two medieval guild-house quaysides facing each other across the Leie river — the best preserved medieval waterfront in Belgium. The guild houses (grain measurers, boatsmen, grocers) date to the 11th–18th centuries. Ghent as a food city: has a strong claim to being the best food city in Belgium — the “Gentse Waterzooi” (a thick chicken or fish broth with vegetables) is the city’s emblematic dish; the Thursday market (Vrijdagmarkt) is one of the best in Belgium.
