6 Best Sights in Ghent and the Leie, Belgium

Flanders's damp conditions were perfect for growing flax, a crop used to make food, oil, and fibers, particularly linen. It might seem an uninspiring subject, but the crop is so woven into the history of Kortrijk that visits to Texture are surprisingly fascinating. The flax grown in the area had a lighter color, gaining the Leie the nickname the "Golden River." When processed in its waters, flax was even thought to gain unique properties, such was the quality of the linen produced. In reality, it was just generations of local knowledge that made its cloth so fine. By the 15th century, Flanders was the epicenter of the linen industry, and Kortrijk its jewel, especially famed for its damask. The city's fortunes ebbed and flowed with the industry, taking a hit in the 19th century, as industrial cotton and linen flooded the market; post World War II, it would collapse entirely. The museum explores this journey, from the multitude of uses for the crop (even the U.S. dollar bill is made of 25% flax) to its complicated history, with no shortage of style.  

Cycling is everything in this part of Flanders. It's here that the famous Tour of Flanders (known as "De Ronde") culminates, and the city even has its own museum dedicated to the race. Regardless of whether you get shivers at the sight Eddie Mercx's racing glove or care little about the sport, it draws you in nicely. Audio guides explain what you're seeing; there's even a virtual cycling machine to give you a taste of the Tour. It's not just about the race, either, and gives an interesting overview of the Flemish Ardennes, whose hills, history, and isolation made it the perfect playground for the Tour organizers. At the ticket desk, you can also organize bike hire and cycling tours of the area.

The home of Arnold Vander Haegen, the city's 18th-century former governor, and the recently opened aristocratic residence of the d’Hane Steenhuyse family can be seen in one visit. The Nobel Prize--winning playwright and poet Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) kept a library at the former, which still contains his personal objects, letters, and documents. The latter home is simply a charming glimpse at the ancien régime, as the era is brought to life by historical clips and tales of etiquette. 

Oudenaarde's town hall is a dazzling expression of just how wealthy the city was by the 16th century. Even today it takes the breath away, and once prompted the novelist Victor Hugo to declare: "There is not a single detail [of it] that is not worth looking at." The main building is adjoined by the city's UNESCO-listed Brabantine-Gothic belfry, etched in elaborate hunting scenes and flocks of angels. Within, you'll find tourist information and the city museum (MOU), the centerpiece of which is a collection of tapestries hanging in the adjoining 14th-century cloth hall. These were Oudenaarde's golden ticket. By the 1500s, the fame of its artisans had spread across Europe and their work fetched high prices. Audio tours circumvent the Dutch info plaques, elaborating the secrets stitched within the hangings and what made them so prized. Less successful is the rather disparate silver collection, though some fine examples of curiosity cabinets and the strange objects coveted by the wealthy make it worth your perusal.  

Explore the history of Ghent through nine rooms, all documenting significant moments in the formation of the city. Each room addresses a different era, from the time human beings first settled in the area some 70,000 years ago, to the city's medieval-era clashes with the Dukes of Burgundy, right up to its modern industrial heritage. The tour winds its way through a 14th-century abbey, a 17th-century monastery, and the modern museum, and there is also a giant map room that allows you to see how the city has expanded over the years.

The city museum is set within the old butcher's hall, built in the mid-15th century. Over the years, this building has filled just about every function a city requires: cloth hall, aldermen's house, prison, guild hall, theater, guardroom. The current museum was installed in the early 1900s and begins its exhibits in prehistory, working its way up to the end of the ancien régime and France's collapse into revolution in the late 1700s. It's an enjoyable grab bag of history, with a 28,000-year-old mammoth skeleton among its most engaging exhibits.