The cobbled main square of Ribe, Torvet, is the social heart of the old town. The cathedral towers above one side; the long colonnaded Det Gamle Rådhus (Old Town Hall, 1496 — the oldest in Denmark still in regular ceremonial use) faces it from another. Cafés and inn restaurants line the remaining sides, with tables out across the cobbles in summer.
The square is the start and finish of the night watchman's tour each evening (8 p.m. May–September, 10 p.m. June–August), and the venue for the Christmas market in December. It is also where every visitor inevitably ends up sooner or later, especially for the late-afternoon sun.