ST. URBAN CATHEDRAL

Built in the early ^18th century, its curved limestone pediment oscillates between classical severity and Baroque voluptuousness. Saint-Aubain Cathedral replaced a collegiate church founded in 1047. It became a cathedral in 1559, following the creation of the bishopric of Namur by Philip II. Destroyed in 1740 by a major flood of the Sambre, it was rebuilt in its present form between 1751 and 1767. The interior is brightly lit, thanks to the impressive crossing dome, and contains remarkable works of art, including paintings by Anton van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens and Nicolaï (a pupil of Rubens). There's also a Romanesque baptismal font.

The Diocesan Museum and Cathedral Treasury are housed in a Renaissance building to the right of the church. Here you'll find a rich collection of goldsmith's and silversmith's pieces, the most precious of which is undoubtedly the reliquary crown of the Holy Thorns (said to contain two thorns from Christ's crown). Also on display is a ^7th-century Merovingian shrine and a fragment of the Cross.

On the other side of Place Saint-Aubain, now a parking lot, stands the former episcopal palace, now a provincial palace. Two mansard-roofed wings frame the classical courtyard, the harmony of which can be appreciated by glancing through the portal. This grand urban palace was built in the classical style between 1728 and 1732. Next to the Brasserie François, the former Hôtel Saint-Aubain is one of Ghent's finest classical buildings.