Located on the narrow Veldstraat in Ghent, this gorgeous rococo palace takes its name from the D’Hane Steenhuyse family. It was occupied in 1815 by King Louis XVIII of France during the ‘Hundred Days’ when Napoleon seized power.
It is now an empty, forgotten building, rarely open to the public. But you can sometimes take a guided tour through the echoing interior to see the dining room where Louis ate supper while locals peered through the windows, and the glittering ballroom where the exiled King entertained British officers before they marched off to Waterloo.
Tours on Friday and Saturday afternoon at 14.30.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
