The Van Eyck Code: Hunting Ghent's Missing Masterpiece Walking Tour

Ghent's most famous artwork has been targeted by thieves, Napoleon's armies, and Hitler's art looters. And yet it still hangs in the cathedral where it was unveiled in 1432, all except one stolen panel that remains missing to this day. On this true crime walking tour, you'll follow the trail of a 1934 heist that removed two panels from the Van Eyck brothers' Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, one of the greatest paintings in Western art. You'll uncover the ransom letters, study the bungled police investigation, and learn about the obsessive theories that have kept this 90-year-old mystery alive.

The tour starts at Hotel 1898 The Post, a Neo-Gothic building that was originally Ghent's main post office. From here, you'll cross Sint-Michielsbrug for a view of Ghent's famous three towers, then wind through medieval streets past street art murals inspired by the altarpiece and a house where the German artist Albrecht Dürer once stayed. You'll stand outside Sint-Baafskathedraal and hear exactly how the theft unfolded, before tracing the getaway route through surrounding lanes where witnesses spotted suspicious cars that night.

The investigation leads you to the Bishop's Palace letterbox where ransom notes were delivered, and through quiet streets where detectives have dug up a garage floor, emptied an ancient well, and excavated a cobblestoned square, all without finding a thing. The tour ends at the Vijd Chapel, where the altarpiece originally hung before it was moved to a more secure location.

During this 90-minute tour, you'll have the chance to:

• See the Mystic Lamb street art mural by Bart Smeets, depicting the looted panels hidden behind a blasted wall
• Visit the house at Kleine Turkije 2 where Albrecht Dürer stayed during his 1521 trip to Ghent
• Examine the Bishop's Palace letterbox where the blackmailer posted ransom demands signed D.U.A.
• Explore the Wintercircus, an 1893 indoor circus that once housed elephants and 3,400 spectators
• Discover the Weavers' Chapel, a 14th-century guild chapel hidden inside a furniture design store
• Hear how a paranormal investigator tried to crack the case by illegally digging up the blackmailer's skull

The mystery is unsolved, a detective is still on the case, and the panel is somewhere out there. Head off on this walk through the Ghent streets and see if you can spot the clue everyone else has missed.