Top choice in Northeast Belgium
With 7000 sq metres of dolls, teddies, toys, games and other pastimes, the wonderful Speelgoedmuseum has lots to keep the kids busy. Meanwhile, adults can peruse the history of toys, walk inside a ‘Bruegel’ painting and get maudlin over the nostalgic range of playthings, from Meccano and Lego to toy soldiers, Airfix kits and working train sets.
The museum backs onto Mechelen-Nekkerspoel train station.
13.59 MILES
The medieval building and 1622 courtyard garden alone would be worth a visit, but it's the world's oldest printing press, priceless manuscripts and…
14.19 MILES
This 1899 former department store is an art nouveau showpiece with a black facade aswirl with wrought iron and arched windows. The building contains the…
14.06 MILES
Brussels’ magnificent Grand Place is one of the world’s most unforgettable urban ensembles. Oddly hidden, the enclosed cobblestone square is only revealed…
14.2 MILES
Strap on a pair of headphones, then step on the automated floor panels in front of the precious instruments (including world instruments and Adolphe Sax’s…
15.44 MILES
The typically austere exterior doesn’t give much away, but Victor Horta’s former home (designed and built 1898–1901) is an art nouveau jewel. The…
15.6 MILES
One of Brussels’ overlooked architectural wonders, this splendid Napoleon III–style palace
25.41 MILES
The inventive and touchingly nostalgic Hergé Museum celebrates the multitalented creator of comic-strip hero Tintin with an engaging, inventive and…
24.54 MILES
Inaugurated for the 2015 bicentenary, this showpiece underground museum and visitor centre at the battlefield gives some detail on the background to…
0.22 MILES
The city’s step-gabled courthouse was once Margaret of Austria's palace (from 1506). Despite many subsequent alterations, it maintains a gorgeous…
0.27 MILES
Dating from 1677, this fine church has a very spacious feel, with two rows of whitewashed Corinthian columns and an elegant altarpiece of pale grey marble…
0.38 MILES
After years of preparation, Mechelen's historical museum should have reopened by the time you read this, offering state-of-the-art interactive exhibits…
0.44 MILES
Built in white sandstone, the 15th-century Gothic church of the 'two Johns' (Baptist and Evangelist) looks fairly unremarkable from the outside. However,…
0.46 MILES
Balancing the massive bulk of St-Romboutskathedraal across Mechelen's splendid Grote Markt is the contrastingly poetic stadhuis in all its devil-may-care…
0.54 MILES
In medieval times, abbots from wealthy monasteries would often travel to Mechelen to consult the primate (archbishop) and thus required city residences…
0.54 MILES
The Schepenhuis is a small castle fantasy dating back to 1288. It became the council parliament for the Burgundian Netherlands from 1473.
0.54 MILES
Established in 1889, this workshop is one of the few places in Belgium where you can see contemporary tapestries being woven and antique ones from all…