Easily the most extravagant in a square full of extravagant buildings, the dazzling Town Hall dates from 1402 and is a masterpiece of Gothic design, with a lacy facade ornamented with dozens of arched windows and sculptures displaying drunken monks, a sleeping Moor and his harem, and St. Michael slaying a female devil. The enormous (almost) central tower rears 66m (215 ft.) high and is visible for miles around.

The interior is a mélange of the best and most lavish styles from Gothic to Louis XIV and can be toured only by appointment. The mirrored Gothic Hall is a spectacular highlight of the visit to this ultimate monument to urban power, as are the 16th- to 18th-century Flemish tapestries depicting the trades of the guildsmen who commissioned them to hang in the series of embellished council chambers.