Push open a gate off a busy Ghent street and the noise drops away. The Klein Begijnhof, the Small Béguinage, is a walled enclave of whitewashed and brick houses with stepped gables around a green courtyard and a Baroque church. Béguines were lay women who lived in community, devoted to prayer and work but without taking permanent vows, and this béguinage was founded in the thirteenth century. Most of the present buildings date from the seventeenth century. Together with other Flemish béguinages, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and it remains one of the calmest places in the city.
Getting here on a motorcycle needs a little planning. Ghent introduced a traffic circulation plan that divides the centre into sectors you cannot drive directly between, and a low emission zone covers the city centre. Older bikes may need registration, and the medieval core around the Graslei, Korenlei and Sint-Baafs Cathedral is largely closed to motor traffic. The sensible approach is to park on the edge of the centre and walk or take a tram. Cobbles, tram tracks and swarms of cyclists make riding in the core more stressful than fun anyway.
Once on foot, Ghent rewards you generously. The Gravensteen castle, the Belfry, the Van Eyck brothers' Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in Sint-Baafs, and the canalside guildhalls are all within a short walk. Students keep the city lively and food is excellent, from Ghent's own waterzooi, a creamy stew of chicken or fish, to the purple cone-shaped sweets called cuberdons.
Outside the city, the ride options are pleasant rather than thrilling: the Scheldt and Lys valleys offer winding lanes through villages, and the Flemish Ardennes to the south give some short, steep cobbled climbs familiar from cycling's spring classics. Fuel, coffee and everything else are easy. Come back to the béguinage late in the day, when the light slants across the courtyard and you might have it almost to yourself.