Mechelen, St Rumbold's tower, Kazerne Dossin and Gouden Carolus, 20 minutes from Brussels.

Mechelen, Malines in French and Malinas in Spanish, is exactly halfway between Brussels and Antwerp, and almost nobody includes it on a first trip. That is a mistake: in the early sixteenth century it was the capital of the Burgundian Netherlands under Margaret of Austria, Charles V grew up here, and the city keeps a cathedral with one of the tallest towers in the country, a World Heritage beguinage, a historic brewery and Belgium's most important Holocaust memorial. Everything fits into a day on foot, and the centre, closed to cars during the day, can be walked at an easy pace.

How do you get there from Brussels?

By train, about 20 minutes: Mechelen is on the Brussels to Antwerp line, with very frequent trains. From Zaventem airport there is a direct train of about 11 minutes, so Mechelen is also a good base for the first or last night of the trip. From the station to the Grote Markt it takes a quarter of an hour on foot.

By car, about half an hour on the motorway towards Antwerp. The historic centre is closed to traffic from 11:00 to 18:00: leave the car in the free Douaneplein car park, ten minutes' walk away, or in a paid one in the centre.

What to see in a day?

Start with the Grote Markt and St Rumbold's Cathedral, free, with a Van Dyck Christ on the Cross. If it is Saturday, go up first thing to the tower: 538 steps to a glass skywalk at 97 metres, from where you can see as far as Brussels and Antwerp on a clear day. On other days it opens at 13:00, so leave it until after lunch.

Ten minutes to the north, Kazerne Dossin tells the story of the deportation of Belgium's Jews and Roma from this barracks during the occupation. It needs two hours and is closed on Wednesdays. Very close, the Great Beguinage, a district of cobbled lanes, leads to the Het Anker brewery, home of Gouden Carolus, with a guided tour and a brasserie open every day.

In the afternoon, the river: the floating walkway on the Dijle runs from the Haverwerf to the botanical garden over the water, and from April to October the Malinska boats leave from the Haverwerf for 45 minutes through the centre, for €11. If you like art history, the Hof van Busleyden, the palace of one of Margaret's councillors, tells the story of Burgundian Mechelen.

What about with children?

Mechelen works very well for families because it is small and flat. With small children, the boat, the river walkway and the toy museum, which since 2024 has been in the station itself. If you have one more day, the Planckendael zoo, in Muizen, one train stop away, is a whole day of animals; under-12s travel free on the train with an adult. The tower is for older children who can manage the staircase.

Where to eat?

The Het Anker brasserie is the safe bet any day, including Sunday, with Flemish cooking made with its beer. On weekdays, Cosma serves sharing plates and aged meats four minutes from the square, and Tinèlle, with one Michelin star, has a lunch menu at €58 in a seventeenth-century convent. Look on the menus for the Mechelse Koekoek, the Mechelen breed of chicken, and for asparagus in spring.

Where to stay?

Mechelen is quieter and somewhat cheaper than Brussels or Bruges. The Het Anker hotel is inside the brewery; the Hotel Vé, on the Vismarkt, has a pool, sauna and jacuzzi; and Martin's Patershof is a four-star inside a former church, with breakfast in the choir.

Mechelen, Leuven or Antwerp?

All three are less than an hour from Brussels by train. Leuven is the university city, with more of a bar scene; Antwerp, the great city of Rubens and fashion. Mechelen is the quietest and the best for walking, and it combines on the same day with Antwerp, a quarter of an hour further by train. From Brussels it is a long half day or a full unhurried day.