Brasserie Het Anker
What to order: a Flemish dish cooked with Gouden Carolus and the house draught beer
Open every day from 10:00 · kitchen from 12:00 to 21:00
geocalia
Day itinerary · 51.03° N · 4.48° E
Mechelen in a day, twenty minutes by train from Brussels.
Kazerne Dossin in the morning, the beguinage and the Het Anker brasserie at midday, and in the afternoon the 538 steps of the tower and a boat on the Dijle. 20 minutes by train from Brussels.
Leaving from
Direct flight to Bruselas fromBarcelona 2 hBilbao 2 hAsturias 2 h 15Alicante 2 h 30Madrid 2 h 30Valencia 2 h 30Málaga 3 hSevilla 3 hFuerteventura 4 h 30Lanzarote 4 h 30
Part of MechelenBeers of Belgium
Add to my trip
Total time9 h
By car30 min each way
From BrusselsTrain · 20 min
WalkingAbout 6 km
DifficultyEasy, with a demanding tower
Cost€60–90 pp
Best dayThursday to Sunday, April to October
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave Brussels 15 min by train
from Bruxelles-Central or Midi; from the station to the centre, 15 minutes on foot or by bus
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1
Kazerne Dossin, Holocaust memorial and museum
€12 · €5 for ages 9 to 21 · closed Wednesdays
- 8 min on foot
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2
Mechelen's Great Beguinage, a UNESCO site
free; cobbled streets
- 5 min on foot
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3
Brasserie Het Anker
kitchen from 12:00 to 21:00 every day
Guido Gezellelaan 49, 2800 Mechelen · +32 15 28 71 41
Restaurant €€Book - 12 min on foot
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4
St Rumbold's Cathedral and the Grote Markt
free; the Christ on the Cross by Van Dyck
- 1 min on foot
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5
Climbing St Rumbold's tower and its skywalk
538 steps · €8 · book a slot at weekends
- 8 min on foot
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6
Boat trip on the Dijle from the Haverwerf
Rederij Malinska · €11 · April to October
+32 478 08 51 14
- 2 min on foot
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7
The floating Dijle walkway, from the Haverwerf to the botanical garden
from the Haverwerf to the botanical garden, free
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Back home 15 min by train
from Mechelen; in Brussels before 18:30
Approximate cost
About €30–45 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Kazerne Dossin, Holocaust memorial and museum
Mechelen is the shortest trip from Brussels: twenty minutes by train and a small, flat city with no cars in the centre. This plan begins with the most serious, the Kazerne Dossin memorial, passes through the beguinage and the Gouden Carolus brewery at lunchtime and leaves the afternoon for climbing St Rumbold's Tower and sailing on the Dijle.
The day, hour by hour
9:00 · Train to Mechelen. About 20 minutes from Bruxelles-Central.
9:45 · Kazerne Dossin. The Holocaust museum in the former barracks from which Belgium's Jews and Roma were deported. €12; two hours. Closed on Wednesdays.
11:45 · The Grand Beguinage. Cobbled lanes and little brick houses, a UNESCO site, free.
12:30 · Lunch at the Het Anker brasserie. Flemish cooking with the house beer, open every day.
14:00 · The cathedral and the tower. Go into St Rumbold's for free and climb the tower: 538 steps to the skywalk, €8. At weekends, book the slot.
16:00 · Boat on the Dijle. 45 minutes from the Haverwerf with Malinska, €11, from April to October. With the boat ticket, the tower costs €6 if you do it afterwards.
17:00 · The floating walkway. From the Haverwerf to the botanical garden, over the water.
17:45 · Return to Brussels.
Is it for me?
If you are interested in history and want a quiet city, yes. With small children, swap Kazerne Dossin and the tower for the boat and the toy museum, or for Planckendael zoo. In winter, without the boat, extend your visit to the Hof van Busleyden.
Time2 h
Change the route
Instead of the tower, if you are more interested in beer: a tour of an hour and a half with two Gouden Carolus:
Het Anker brewery tour and its Gouden Carolus
With small children, the whole day at the zoo, one train stop away:
Planckendael zoo, at Muizen
When it rains, Wednesday to Sunday:
Hof van Busleyden Museum, Burgundian Mechelen
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Cosma
What to order: several starters to share, such as the prawn gyozas or the risotto croquettes, and a Piedmontese beef tartare
Open Wednesday to Friday for lunch and dinner and on Saturday evening · closed Sunday to Tuesday
Tinèlle
What to order: the three-course lunch menu at €58 or, à la carte, the Mechelse Koekoek croquettes and the turbot
Open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner · closed at weekends
Map
The stops, in order
With where to park at each one.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Getting there
By car or without one?
When to go
When to go to Mechelen
Any day except Wednesday, when Kazerne Dossin is closed. The boat sails daily from April to October and at weekends in March and November; the tower opens at 13:00 except on Saturday.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Avoid Wednesday
Kazerne Dossin is closed that day.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the trip to Mechelen cost?
Between €60 and €90 per person with train, museum, tower, boat and lunch.
Can it be done in half a day?
Yes: the Grote Markt, cathedral, tower and Dijle fit into an afternoon.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/belgium/mechelen/itineraries/kazerne-dossin-and-het-anker
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.