Mechelen

Mechelen is a small and picturesque city that is big on charm and history. It is a city thriving with quaint shops, car-free areas and amazingly pleasant little squares but is probably best known for its carillon school where students from all over the world come to learn to play church bells. One of the most pleasant experiences to have in Mechelen is to sit outside at a café sipping on a local beer while listening to the delightful bell music coming from the sky.

Mechelen is a city for all ages. Young people can actively enjoy themselves in the Toy Museum or the Tivoli Children’s Farm, whereas the young at heart can entertain themselves at the Anker, one of the oldest operating breweries in Belgium. There are also many parks and gardens to stroll in and a boat trip to these parks from Mechelen Central Station is not to be missed.

Mechelen has no less than 336 listed buildings and monuments including eight gothic and baroque churches from the 14th up to and including the 17th century. The grace of centuries old palaces and majestic churches appeal to everyone. For Mechelen’s most notable sites see Mechelen Highlights below.

Mechelen Highlights
St. Rombouts Cathedral This gothic church is named after the Saint Rumbold from Ireland who converted the people of Mechelen to Christianity. It is striking mainly because of its splendid 318 ft. high tower with remarkable horizontal lines. Both the old carillon (1674), as well as the new one, have 49 bells.
St John's Church Here you can see the magnificent work, The Adoration of the Magi, by Belgian painter Pieter Paul Rubens.
The Palace of the Grand Council This was the palace of Margaret of Austria. It was here that she raised her young nephew Charles who later became Emperor Charles V. Today it again fulfills its historical function as the city’s law court. The late-gothic palace with a renaissance entrance wing has a formal garden within an interior courtyard.