Pet-Friendly Attractions in Ghent

Ghent's grand main square at the foot of the UNESCO-listed Belfort belfry (one of the three Flemish belfries with Bruges and Antwerp). Open 24/7, leashed dogs welcome throughout the square and on the café terraces. The Belfort interior climb admits assistance dogs only.

The most photographed medieval quayside in Belgium, the Graslei and the Korenlei face each other across the Leie river at the historic merchants' port, framed by stepped-gable guild houses from the 12th to 17th centuries. The cobbled quays are a public street, leashed dogs welcome free of charge; locals sit on the Graslei steps with a beer at golden hour.

The 12th-century moated fortress of the Counts of Flanders, the only intact medieval castle in Flanders to retain its defence system. The interior visit (battlements, dungeons, torture museum) admits assistance dogs only, but the moat walk, the Sint-Veerleplein and the surrounding cobbled lanes are public and leashed-dog friendly.

Werregarenstraat is the city's legal graffiti alley, a permanently changing open-air art gallery between the Belfort and the Hoogpoort. Two minutes north sits the Vrijdagmarkt, the historic political square dominated by the statue of Jacob van Artevelde, ringed by cafés and the home of the Friday-morning cuberdon ('neuzeke') candy vendors. Both are public and dog-friendly.