Rabot

About

Quick facts: Sitting right on the Leie, the bulky stone tower acted as both a fortified gate and a sluice that controlled the river's flow into the medieval city. Centuries later it spent decades as a prison and then as social housing, with families living inside its thick walls until the 1970s.

Highlights: Peek through the iron grate in the tower's base and you'll see the actual water gate, a fortified opening that could be slammed shut to stop enemy ships from slipping into the city on the Leie. Later the same grim chamber held 19th-century prisoners, and by the 1960s low-income families were raising kids here, scrambling up the spiral stairs between the old cells.

Insider tips

• Wear grippy shoes, the narrow spiral staircases up to the rooftop are steep and worn smooth.
• Cross to the opposite riverbank at dusk to catch the round tower glowing against the water.
• Check the city's cultural calendar, the venue rotates exhibitions, concerts, and kids' workshops through the year.
• Picnic on the grassy slope beside the tower instead of paying tourist-core prices a few streets away.

Practical info

Directions

More attractions in Gent

Gravensteen Castle

St. Bavo's Cathedral

Castle of the Counts

Saint Nicholas' Church