Our visit to the hidden gem that is Mechelen in Flanders, Belguim

#Ad - A look at Mechelen, in the Flemish half of Belgium, in association with Visit Flanders & Visit Mechelen.

We'll start in the centre of town at the Grote Markt. Everything we see will be a 10-15 walk from here.

Heading south, we drop down to the River Dyler, and discover that it's the lifeline of Mechelen. There are other clues through the city to it's watery past if you know what you're looking for.

Next, it's a must-do in Mechelen, take a boat trip. Firstly head north towards Antwerp, as far as the old public swimming baths, before turning around and heand back under the old bridges past Haverwerf, and Mechelen's historic 16th & 17th-century merchant houses. We pass the old Lamot brewery and on under the "Hoogbrug" and "Fonteinbrug" turning around after we pass the old watermill and head back to the quayside.

After a closer look at the merchants houses it's onto "De Vleeshalle", a food hall in the centre of the city. Fully fuelled, we embark on a Burgundian Walking tour organised by Visit Mechelen and learn that some amazing Flemish art is free to see in the churches of Mechelen.

We discover Mechelen's connection to English royalty through Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV and Richard III, who married Charles the Bold and lived in a palace in Mechelen. Just opposite is the palace of Margaret of Austria, the step-grandaughter of Margaret of York. This was the golden age of Mechelen.

Next, we discover Mechelen's darkest days at the Kazerne Dossin Memorial. Due to Mechelen's excellent rail infrastructure, the Nazi-occupied city became the hub for deporting Jews & Romani to concentration camps in the east.

On a brighter note, we discover the kindness of the Beguines, and how their charitable work led to the Het Anker brewery. This leads us onto a tour of Mechelen's last remaining brewery.

After the pleasure comes a little pain, a visit to St Rumbold's Cathedral, and the 538-step climb to the top of St Rumbold's tower, and the Mechelen's Skywalk.

Once completed, we settle back and enjoy the Grote Markt at dusk, explaining the story of the Maneblussers, or moon extinguishers, before concluding our tour of Mechelen with a walk down to the old fish market.

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⏱️Timestamps⏱️
00:00 - The intro to Mechelen
00:10 - How to get to Mechelen in Belgium
00:48 - Let's discover Mechelen
02:06 - The boat trip through Mechelen
05:30 - De Vleeshalle
06:05 - The Burgundian Walking Tour
08:17 - Kazerne Dossin Memorial
09:33 - The Grand Béguinages of Mechelen
10:23 - The Het Anker Brewery tour
12:32 - St Rumbold's Cathedral & Tower
15:26 - Relaxing in Mechelen, Belgium

📝 For more information, check out our post 'Exploring the historic city of Mechelen in Flanders'
🔗 https://www.ourworldforyou.com/explor...

🎬 You may also be interested in our video 'Let's explore the historic Flemish city of Ghent in Belgium'
🔗    • Let's explore the historic Flemish city of...  

Links mentioned in the video;
🔗 Visit Mechelen - https://visit.mechelen.be/en
🔗 Visit Flanders - https://www.visitflanders.com/en/?cou...
🔗 Burgundian walking tour - https://visit.mechelen.be/burgundian-...
🔗 St Rumbold’s Tower - https://visit.mechelen.be/ascent-of-s...
🔗 Museum Hof van Busleyden - https://www.hofvanbusleyden.be/
🔗 Kazerne Dossin Memorial and Museum - https://kazernedossin.eu/en/
🔗 UNESCO Belfries of Belgium and France - https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943
🔗 Het Anker Brewery - https://www.hetanker.be/en
🔗 The Rederij Malinska Boat trip - https://www.bootjesinmechelen.be/en/


🍴 Where we ate
🔗 Lam’eau - https://www.lameau.be/
🔗 De Vleeshalle - https://www.devleeshalle.be/nl/home/
🔗 Emiel - https://www.restaurantemiel.be/

🛌 Where we stayed
🔗 Hotel Martin’s Patershof - https://www.martinshotels.com/en/page...

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