Bruges’ perennial poor cousin has plenty to offer visitors today, with the lack of tourist crowds an attraction in itself. This old cloth center was once the largest medieval city in Europe after Paris. The medieval heart of Ghent boasts many historic buildings, including three abbeys. Key attractions include St Bavo’s Cathedral, place of Charles V’s baptism and home to The Adoration of the Mystical Lamb, the Van Eyck brothers’ masterpiece; the Town Hall, where the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1576; the Castle of the Counts, a medieval castle surrounded by the Lieve canal; the 15th-century Cloth Hall; the medieval town center with its old guild houses; the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Industrial Archaeology.