The medieval meat hall that smells of books now
This is the Groot Vleeshuis, the Great Butcher's Hall. From the 15th century, meat was sold under these wooden beams — a whole trade, one roof, regulated to the last sausage. Inside you'll still find a painted mural from 1448. Today it's less chops and more local produce, a covered passage and a good place to duck out of the rain. Ghent's old trades loved a grand hall. This is one of the grandest.