Flemish Region · Belgium
Where to stay in Mechelen
Mechelen is a city in Flemish Region, Belgium, home to about 87,000 people. This guide covers 1 hotel in Mechelen, with about 125 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 1
- Best months
- May, June, August and September
- Nearest airport
- BRU14 km · Brussels Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Brussels
- Language
- Dutch, French, German
About
About Mechelen
Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel (a few kilometers away), as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen.
It lies about halfway between Antwerp and Brussels and has approximately 80,000 inhabitants. Though now in the shadow of Brussels, Mechelen is a historically important city in its own right. From 1506 to 1530 it was the capital of the Netherlands under Margaret of Austria. In 1559 it became an archbishopric, a sign of great importance. It was famous for its wood carvings, some of which can still be seen in the churches of the city, and for lace and tapestry manufacture. Mechelen is developing into the centre of non-profit or non-governmental organizations for Flanders.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Mechelen
See
- St. Rumbold's Cathedral
- Market Square
- Dossin Barracks
- Palace of Margaret of Austria
- Palace of Busleyden
- St. Jean Church
- Beguinage Church
- Refuge of the Abbey of Tongerlo
- 16th-century houses
- Toy Museum
- Clocks and watches Museum
- Technopolis
Do
- Planckendael Animal Park
- UGC's Cinema Mechelen
- De Nekker
- Maanrock
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Mechelen
1 place to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Hotel Mechelen hotel | 125 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
When to go
The best time to visit Mechelen
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Mechelen are May, June, August and September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; December is the wettest, with about 82 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Mechelen: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Brussels Airport (BRU), about 14 km from the city centre in a straight line; Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 18 km) and Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL, 63 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Mechelen is easily reached by train. From Brussels and Antwerp it takes about 25 minutes.
Getting around
The city center is about 15 minutes walk from the train station. Mechelen is a very compact city, so you can reach most places on foot. There are a few bus routes through and radiating from the city centre in case you need them.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BRU · Brussels Airport
ANR · Antwerp International Airport (Deurne)
CRL · Brussels South Charleroi Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Mechelen
Stay safe
While Mechelen used to have one of the highest crime rates in Flanders, it is safe to walk through Mechelen now. The city has improved much over the last years, especially in the tourist areas. You may want to keep out of the outskirts at night, though, but there is not much to do there anyway.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Mechelen: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Mechelen?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Mechelen are May, June, August and September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; December is the wettest, with about 82 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Mechelen?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Brussels Airport (BRU), about 14 km from the city centre in a straight line; Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 18 km) and Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL, 63 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Mechelen?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Mechelen
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.