Fodor's Expert Review Marktplein

Jacob van Maerlant’s statue stands tall and poetic in the center of Damme's market square. On the facade of the Gothic Stadhuis (Town Hall) you can see Charles, the noble duke, presenting the wedding ring to his fiancée Margaret, plus other stone effigies of Flemish counts set in niches between the high windows. The step-gabled building’s interior moldings and clock tower are especially outstanding. Note the Huyse de Grote Sterre, a 15th-century patrician’s residence that was also home to the Spanish military governor in the 17th century; it’s now the tourist office and a literary museum.