Take the narrow street at the foot of the cathedral: the Biezekapelstraat.

This is the area for courting par excellence in Ghent, with a view of the beautiful aristocrats house De Sikkel. With luck you will be treated to the sounds of opera, since this building houses the Academy of Music.

Keep straight on.

You come out into an attractive little square: the Zandberg, where local people used to come to fetch water from the pump.

If you take the first street on the left you come into Onderstraat.

You will see the entrance to the Van Ryhovesteen building now housing the City Archaeology Department.

Right opposite the Van Ryhovesteen turn into the narrow Serpentstraat.

As a traveller you will be very welcome in Mosquito Coast, a café where you can consult travel guides from all over the world. Slide evenings and geographical quizzes take place here and, of course, travellers' tales galore are exchanged.

At the end of Sepentstraat turn right.

The monumental rococo facade right in front of you is the Academy of Language and Literature, where, sadly, very little happens. When standing at the entrance to the Academy you are in Koningstraat. Follow it to the end and you arrive in the Vlasmarkt, the epicentre of the Ghent Festivals and the centre of alternative entertainment.

Keep right, avoid the busy St Jacobsnieuwstraat but turn right into Baaisteeg and immediately go left.

Via Ridderstraat and Jan Palfijnstraat walk on to Bisdomkaai. You are in fact walking on an island, but since the channel has been filled in you will hardly notice. There are three buildings on the right; the Nationale Bank that looks more like a Byzantine chapel, the bishop's palace on the opposite side and about 100m further on the house of horror, Geeraard de Duivelsteen.