Ghent

Ghent’s soaring, Unesco-listed, 14th-century belfry is topped by a large dragon. — Lonely Planet

The new and high-tech city museum of Ghent is well worth a visit. — Afar Magazine

This fairytale castle was built as a show of power but was nearly torn down thanks to its history of torture.  — Atlas Obscura

In a restored 1363 children’s hospice complex, this delightful museum examines how everyday life was lived from the 1890s to 1970s. — Lonely Planet

It holds a highly regarded permanent collection of local works (including Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky and Panamarenko) and works of international celebrities (like Christo, Warhol and Hockney). — Lonely Planet

This grey-walled castle with stone-roofed towers and a turreted keep is surrounded by a moat. — Michelin Guide

Patershol has small craftsmen's houses (the oldest are 12C), big town houses, two Medieval convents and a hospice. — Michelin Guide

Twin-towered Romanesque church. — Lonely Planet

A building in two parts: the old wing, an 18th-century mansion that showcases re-creations of domestic life in that era. — Travel + Leisure

This enthralling mental-health museum takes visitors on a trilingual, multicultural journey through the history of psychiatry, from gruesome Neolithic trepanning to contemporary brain scans. — Lonely Planet

Ghent’s magnificent and flamboyant city hall...had transformed into a Renaissance-style palazzo. It's a prime spot for weddings, but visitor access is limited to one-hour guided visits — Lonely Planet

This kid-friendly natural-history museum exhibits cover geology, the evolution of life, human biology and reproduction, and a diorama room of indigenous birds. There is also a garden site — Fodor's

Ghent’s highly regarded Museum of Contemporary Art features regularly changing exhibitions of provocative, cutting-edge installations which (as in TRAK 2012) sometimes spill out right across the city. — Lonely Planet

Ghent's best-loved waterfront square, the 'Wheat Market' is where you'll find some of the city's best architecture. — Lonely Planet