The City Hall of Ghent is an attractive building. You will find it in the Botermarkt at the junction with Hoogpoort. It is constructed in different architectural styles and periods. From the 15th century till the 19th century, from gothic style up to renaissance style.

It is situated on the site where until 1482 the City council representatives and the representatives of the Trade Guild's met in separate buildings. Because they were judged too small and did not reflect the importance of the meetings that took place, it was decided that a new and bigger town hall had to be built.

Due to historical events, it took a lot of time before the actual City Hall was finished. Started in the Flemish renaissance architectural style, the construction took so much time that architectural fashion had changed and thus the second half of the building got a more classical view.

You can go in during Monday to Thursday. There is a guided tour that starts at 2.30pm. You have to get tickets from the Tourist Office in the Belfry/Lakenhalle. You must make a reservation between 11.30 a.m. - 2.30 p.m. at inquiry desk. This is where the tour starts from.

What I find strange is that the City Hall of Ghent is closed at the weekend. Most visitors arrive in the city at the weekend yet the beautiful interior cannot be seen. This is crazy as I would have thought that the fact that there were no office workers on Saturday and Sunday it would have been an ideal time to allow access to visitors.

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