Hotels near St Michael's Bridge (Sint-Michielsbrug)

St Michael's Bridge is the single best free viewpoint in the historic city. Standing at the highest point of the arched sandstone bridge (built 1905-1909, replacing an earlier drawbridge), you get a rare open sightline to all three medieval towers - St Nicholas's Church to the east, the Belfry behind it, and St Bavo's Cathedral in the far distance - lined up like beads on a string. Ghent city planners in the 19th century deliberately widened the surrounding streets to preserve this view, one of the earliest documented cases of view protection in Europe.

Look downriver (north) from the bridge for the Graslei guildhouses on the right bank and the neo-Gothic pinnacles of the former post office (now a shopping arcade, 1910) to the left. The bronze statue of St Michael the archangel on the bridge itself dates from 1912 and was recast in 2001 after the original wore through. Free at all hours, but late afternoon light in autumn is when photographers set up shop. Come after dark when the towers and guildhouses are illuminated in warm yellow.

Pro Tip: The absolute best photo spot is not the middle of the bridge but the corner where the bridge meets Sint-Michielshelling on the west bank. Come 15 minutes after sunset (blue hour) in autumn or winter for the strongest tower silhouettes.