Ghent's historic core is one of the best-preserved in Europe, and unlike Bruges it functions as a real city rather than a museum piece. The three medieval towers — the Belfry, Saint Bavo's Cathedral, and Saint Nicholas' Church — define the skyline. Below them runs the Graslei, a row of guild houses along the Leie that constitute one of the most photographed waterfronts in northern Europe.
The Ghentian attitude toward its own history is pleasantly unsentimental. The city has been rebelling against authority since the Middle Ages — against Spanish rule, against French invasion, against any external power that tried to tell it what to do — and that independent streak is still visible in its street life and culture.