Small Beguinage Our Lady ter Hoyen

Behind a gate on Lange Violettestraat lies one of the quietest places in Ghent. The Small Beguinage of Our Lady ter Hoyen dates back to 1235 and was founded by the Countess of Flanders, and the tourism board calls it the best preserved beguinage from before the French Revolution. Beguines were women who chose a devout life in a community without taking monastic vows, living in their own houses, earning their own living and following a shared rule. The result was a small walled town within the town, with a church, an infirmary, a meadow and rows of low brick houses along cobbled lanes. Today about a hundred houses remain, and people still live in them, so visitors walk through a residential community rather than a museum. The baroque Church of the Presentation of Our Lady stands at the heart, the former infirmary houses exhibitions and artists' studios, and the open meadow, once the churchyard, gives the place a rural calm. The site is recognised by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage group of Flemish beguinages, and entry is free.

Beguinages appeared in the Low Countries in the thirteenth century, at a time when many women had no place in conventional society. They offered independence, work and spiritual life without the full constraints of a convent. Ghent has three. The Small Beguinage is the best preserved from before the French Revolution, laid out like a village with streets, a green and a church, and it keeps much of its historic character.

The last Ghent beguine died in 2008, shortly before her hundredth birthday, so the place now belongs to its history, though residents continue to live in the houses.

A visit is about quiet observation. Walk the lanes slowly, notice the doors and the brickwork, and visit the church if it is open. Because the houses are private homes, keep your voice down, do not look into windows and do not block the paths. The tourism board's page does not publish opening hours in its text, so check the beguinage's own website before you go, especially for the church and the exhibition spaces in the old infirmary.

Allow around forty-five minutes, longer if you linger on the meadow or visit an exhibition. The site is a short bus or tram ride, or a pleasant walk, from the centre, and it is in the low emission zone, so drivers should check the rules.

If you have more time, Ghent's other beguinages make a satisfying small theme. The Old St Elizabeth Beguinage is known as the holy corner, because three churches, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, stand nearby. The Great St Elizabeth Beguinage, built in 1873 and 1874 in Sint-Amandsberg just outside the centre, is much larger, with eighty houses, fourteen convents and a church, and it was once home to around six hundred beguines. Its gates are open from early morning until late in the evening, and entry is free.

The Great Beguinage is on the UNESCO list alongside the Small Beguinage, and together the beguinages tell the story of a movement that shaped women's lives in Flanders for centuries. The Great Beguinage is also close to the Campo Santo, an artistic cemetery on a hilltop, and to the lively Spaans Kasteelplein, if you want to continue your walk. In winter, visits are calm, the bare trees show the architecture and a hot drink in a nearby cafe makes the perfect end.