Ghent’s Stadhuis (Town Hall) hovers in the northeast corner of the Botermarkt, showing a rather plain Renaissance profile to the world. However, walk round the corner to Hoogpoort and you’ll come face to face with a garishly ornamented Gothic face to the building. This came about because construction began in 1518, was interrupted, began again at the end of the century, halted once more in the early 1600s, and wasn’t completed until the 18th century. The changing public tastes of those years are reflected in the building’s conflicting styles. The Town Hall can only be visited with a guided tour.