Fish Market

This guide to the Fish Market in Bruges explains how a colonnade that looks like a stray Roman temple came to stand here, built in 1821 for the plainest of reasons: keeping the fish trade dry. It follows the sellers' path from the stench-plagued Market Square to this canal-side spot, and the city architect Jean-Robert Calloigne's decision to give them a proper roof instead of open air. You'll hear about the daily rhythm of scaling and gutting catch on these stone slabs each dawn, and how the trade here has changed since. Run a hand along the pale stone columns as you pass through.