5. Museum of Industry Belgium was the first country in mainland Europe where the Industrial Revolution took hold. Housed inside a former cotton mill, this museum traces Ghent’s rise to textile ...

Ghent, Belgium, is seen from the city’s belfry tower on May 8, 2017. The large church in the foreground is St. Nicholas’ Church, which began construction in the 13th century.

Over the years, I keep returning to Belgium's second city. Once I made a pilgrimage to see a world-famous masterpiece, Van Eyck's "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb," also called the Ghent Altarpiece.