Ghent · BE

Walking loops in Sint-Jacobs, Ghent

Vrijdagmarkt has hosted Ghent's Friday market since the thirteenth century and the noise hasn't changed much — flowers, cheese, opinions. Sint-Jacobskerk anchors the southern end with one of the city's older towers; the streets that radiate out fill with second-hand bookshops, record stores, and bars that don't post hours. On weekends the whole square turns into furniture; in the evenings it turns back into stone. Coffee tastes better when you can hear pigeons argue.

3 routes from 1.4 to 3.7 km · 7–14 sights per loop