Turn to the left into the Rue Haut-Port, to observe the =main front= of this earlier Gothic building, with its fine projecting windows above, its empty niches, its handsome entrance staircase and main portal, its beautiful little balcony for addressing the people below, and the large projecting window of its ancient chapel near the centre. Note how well the _façade_ is thus broken up and diversified. This is the finest specimen of florid Gothic in Belgium. Beyond it comes another Renaissance portion, and then a handsome Renaissance dwelling-house. The street also contains several fine early houses, the best of which (a Gothic guildhall, known as the Cour St. Georges) stands at the corner to the left, facing the Hôtel-de-Ville.
The =interior= of the Hôtel-de-Ville need not be visited, though it has a handsome Gothic staircase (demolished, sold, built into a private house, re-erected) and some fine halls and internal courts, interesting to those who have plenty of time at their disposal.
Now, return to the Belfry and continue straight down the left-hand side of the Rue de la Catalogne. The church on the right, round the base of which houses have been allowed to cluster, is =St. Nicolas=—the oldest in the town. This is one of the most solid pieces of architecture at Ghent. It has a fine decorated tower, which has happily escaped restoration, besides small turrets to the Transepts, and two, rather larger, to the gable of the Nave. Go on into the _Koornmarkt_ or _Marché aux Blés_, to the R.; stand there for a moment, at the end of the Rue de la Catalogne, to observe the fine _coup d’œil_, which takes in St. Nicolas, the Belfry, and the tower of the Cathedral. The main _façade_ of St. Nicolas faces the Koornmarkt. Over the door is a modern figure of the Saint himself, raising the three boys who were salted down for meat. Nicolas was the popular saint, the patron of the merchants and burgesses; and the prominent position of his church on the Corn Market is very characteristic of the burgher spirit of Ghent.
A hasty glance will suffice for the =interior=, which is a characteristic specimen of the unrestored Belgian church, with figures of the Twelve Apostles (as always) against the pillars of the Nave; an ugly carved pulpit; short Transepts; an Apse with bad glass; and the vaulting of Nave, Aisles, and Choir concealed by plaster. The tawdry decorations render what might be a fine interior wholly unimpressive. The High Altar has an altar-piece by Liemakere, representing, in the confused style of the School of Rubens, the election of St. Nicholas as Bishop of Myra. Above is an 18th century figure of the Saint, raising the three boys from the tub. The early pillars of the Choir are really handsome.