Mechelen does not have the fame of other Belgian cities, like Brussels or Bruges, but it's a beautiful place to visit for one day while in Belgium.

We first visited the imposing Saint Rumbold's Cathedral in the city center. Buil in 1200s, the cathedral, is probably most known for its van Dyck paintings. A tall tower with 514 steps tops the cathedral. We climbed to the top and admired some icredible views from there.

Grote Markt is a beautiful pedestrian city square lined with cute houses and buildings from different centuries. One of them is the Gothic Town Hall building.

Beguinages were houses where they sent widows to live if they could not find suitable husbands for them during the crusades. The area around here is really nice and peaceful with picturesque narrow streets and typical Flemish houses. The Large Beguinage was declared a UNESCO World heritage site.

We visited Het Anker Brewery, founded by a community of beguines. The most popular beer produced here is Gouden Carolus Classic, a strong dark beer. And from 2010 they also produce Gouden Carolus Single Malt whisky.

The Dossin Barracks were used by Nazis as a deportation center. The barracks are now a memorial and there's also a new Holocaust museum across the road, Kazerne Dossin.

We checked the Fish Market by the river for an authentic feel. It's a nice place to grab a beer, mingle with locals and enjoy the atmosphere. We also took a look at the 3 beautiful buildings 

We ended the day with a nice walk along Dyle River that crosses the city.

One Day in Mechelen

Brussels has good transport connections with many cities in Europe and inside Belgium.

It's very easy to reach Ghent from Brussels, Belgium's capital, I simply hopped in the train and I got there in no time. It's a beautiful town with its impressive castle, beautiful medieval old town and charming canals.

I started my tour of Ghent with Castle of the Counts. It was built back in 9th century as a wooden fortification and went through several transformations during the time. The castle as it is today was built by Philip of Alsace as a residence of the Counts of Flanders. If you visit the castle, do get to its top, it's a wonderful view over the city from there.

I then took a stroll on Graslei area, a promenade along the river bank. It's a very picturesque area in the city, a place where people meet and sit by the river talking and spending time together. The area used to be part of the mediaval port.

St Michael’s Bridge is an arched stone bridge over Ghent's canal with scenic views of local landmarks in the city.

Crossing the bridge, you'll get to Korenlei, the area opposite Graslei, also on the river bank. There are gorgeous buildings on both sides of the river, most of them dating back to the Middle Ages.

Famous St. Bavo’s Cathedral is a Gothic church from the 16th century. The cathedral is named after Bavo, the patron saint of the city.

Belfort van Gent is a medieval tower with copper dragon on top of it. You can climb or take the elevator to the top of the tower for the most spectacular view over the city.

As I was starving I ended up at Uncle Babe’s and had the perfect burger before I continued my journey.

I next paid a visit to Great Butcher’s Hall, which used to be a market where all butcher shops were. Now, there's a market with regional products.

As a last thing on my list while in Ghent, I admired the beautiful graffiti on Werregarenstraat Street.

Beautiful Town of Ghent

From Brussels it's easy to arrive in most of Belgium's cities by train. In less than two hours, I arrived in Dinant, in the south of Belgium.

I did not know about the Belgium city of Dinant till I stumbled upon a photo with a gorgeous landscape. I wondered why it's not more popular taking into consideration the beautiful landscape, but I put it on my list and soon I made my way there.

I arrived in the city center and had the most beautiful view of the city right in front of me from there, with the river, the colourful buildings on the opposite bank, the citadel and the mountain behind.

Dinant’s main attraction is the Citadel. sitting on top of a steep hill. There's a funicular that gets you up to the citadel or there are steps you can climb if you prefer. It's a beautiful panoramic view from there.

When you buy a ticket for the Citadel, you have the option to buy a combined ticket for the river cruise as well. The cruise on the Meuse river offers a different perspective of the city.

Notre Dame de Dinant is the beautiful church in the famous view of Dinant.

On the other bank of the river, there's Maison Leffe. Leffe beer was first brewed by monks in Dinant. I had no idea. They don’t make the Leffe beer here anymore but there's the museum you can visit. 

Another thing you can visit in Dinant is Grotte de Dinant La Merveilleuse, which is a dramatic cave with white stalactites and stalagmites that you can visit with a guided tour.

Charming City of Dinant

While in Brussels with some things to do, I took a day just to explore the Belgium's capital and the heart of European Union.

My starting point was the Gothic style Brussels Cathedral. St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral are twin Roman Catholic cathedrals located in central Brussels that look stunning not only from the exterior, but also on the interior, with marble alabaster and old stained glass windows.

Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the king and queen of Belgium, now an administrative seat for the Belgium monarchy located also in central Brussels. Beautiful neoclassical style.

Mont des Arts (translated hill of the arts) is a beautiful park located between the upper and lower side of Brussels. From there you have a panoramic view of the city center.

I moved further to Grand Place, which is the main square of Belgium's old city center. It's the iconic landmark of Belgium and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Beautiful buildings surrounding the square, of Italian baroque designs with gold finishing.

Before I moved further I had to try the famous Belgian gaufre. I must say it's super delicious. I then arrived at this funny tourist attraction in Brussels, Manneken Pis, which is the statue of a little boy peeing in a fountain. There's also a feminine version of it somewhere near, Jeanneke Pis. :)

The Belgian Comic Strip walk is a strip of about 50 murals in Brussels city centre. They are definitely beautiful to watch. And there's also a comic museum dedicated to the comics that you can visit.

I ended my journey at Rues des Bouchers, which is a street full of reastaurants of local and international cuisine.

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