Mechelen has a wonderful historical and tourist town center. In the first half of the 16th centruy, under Archduchess Margaret of Austria, it was the capital of the Netherlands. The skyline is dominated by the (unfinished) tower of Saint Rumbold’s cathedral. Historical buidings are found in almost every street, hence creating an inspiring atmosphere for a nice walk or a chill beer at a pub.

Mechelen is an ideal suggestion for a city trip, so why not consider prolonging your stay with a few days. You can find lots of information at the website of Mechelen. But also other Belgian towns and cities, like Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Liège and Namur are definitely worth a visit.

Belgium is famous for its beers and chocolate, but also for its speculoos, mattentaart, cuberdons and jenever. We also have an enormous variety of cheese and, of course, our famous French fries (ironic, isn’t it). For the beers (and for the cheese), we know it is impossible to taste them all, but at least enjoy a few of them.

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We have already told that Belgium was the first country on the European continent to have a public railway. If you want to learn more about the three locomotives (La Flèche, The Stephenson and L’Eléphant) who made the first trip between Brussels and Mechelen on 5 May 1835, and the subsequent evolution of trains and rails on the European continent, you might consider a visit to Train World.