Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – View of the Dijle and Fish Market loop from Mechelen

Hiking trails & Routes

Belgium

Flanders

Antwerp

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – View of the Dijle and Fish Market loop from Mechelen

Moderate

4.2

(26)

177

hikers

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – View of the Dijle and Fish Market loop from Mechelen

03:09

12.4km

30m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: September 23, 2026

Tips

Temporary access restrictions

Includes segments with temporary access restrictions.

After 4.55 km for 71 m

Customers only

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

2.07 km

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen

Highlight • Historical Site

The Grote Markt is the central square of Mechelen's city center. The St. Rumbold's Tower dominates the square. You can see it from everywhere. On the other side of the square you will find the City Hall. Look at the houses around the Grote Markt: from different times and in different styles, including 16th century Renaissance and 18th century rococo.
In 2004 the Grote Markt was made traffic-free and an underground car park was built.
Archaeological finds were made during the construction, including an old well and a road from the thirteenth century. At that time there were already market stalls along this road. And now there is still a lively market here every Saturday morning.
visit.mechelen.be/nl/grote-markt

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2.19 km

Old Cloth Hall - Mechelen Town Hall

Highlight • Historical Site

Mechelen actually has three town halls: the old Schepenhuis, Huis De Beyaert and the current town hall. Behind the latter you also have the administrative center called 'Huis van de Mechelaar'. But to return to the current town hall on the Grote Markt, it consists of two parts: the cloth hall with unfinished bell tower and the Palace of the Grand Council. Why was the belfry never finished? The cloth trade fell into decline in the fourteenth century and there was no money to complete the building. For two hundred years, the belfry was no more than a construction, until it was finally provided with a temporary roof in the sixteenth century. Temporary? That roof is still there. The belfry is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To the right of it you can see the oldest part of the town hall, the remains of the former cloth hall. On the left is the Palace of the Great Council. The big advice? It never actually came together here, because this wing was only built in the twentieth century according to the original sixteenth-century plans of the then famous architect Rombout Keldermans.TIP! The interior of the town hall is worth seeing. You can visit it in the company of a guide during the historical city walk.
visit.mechelen.be/nl/stadhuis

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2.24 km

Post office, former Town Hall (14th to 16th century)

Highlight • Historical Site

The post office was once the town hall of Mechelen in the period 14th to 16th century. However, the current facade dates from a restoration about a hundred years ago.

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3.13 km

View of the Dijle and Fish Market

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Dijle flows in front of you, behind it lies the fish market. You can, of course, also get fresh fish there. But above all you will find authentic "old" pubs and hip restaurants here. Real Burgundians still feel at home at the Fish Market.

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3.84 km

Haverwerf Historic Houses (Het Paradijske, De Duiveltjes, Sint-Jozef)

Highlight • Historical Site

Also known as Haverwerf:
Originally oats were disembarked and traded here. Oats used to be synonymous with grain, and Mechelen has exclusive staple rights to it: grain boats must stop in Mechelen and offer the entire load for sale for three days. Only what is not sold in Mechelen, the dealers are allowed to recharge and further transport.
Look at the three remarkable houses near the bridge. They date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and are the main attraction of the Haverwerf. The corner house is called Het Paradijske. The reliefs above the windows depict the scenes 'Earthly Paradise' and 'The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil'.
In the middle is De Duiveltjes, one of the most beautiful wooden facades in our country. It used to be called De Verloren Zoon, because that story is depicted above the entrance door. Now it is named after the devils that act as columns. On the left is the house of Saint Joseph, with the relief of Saint Joseph with the child Jesus in the center. Walk along the water and enjoy!

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4.72 km

Het Anker Brewery

Highlight • Pub

Priest! There is beer everywhere. But it tastes best in a place with real tradition. “Het Anker” is one of the oldest breweries in Belgium. In 1471, the Beguines began brewing beer here - for purely medical reasons, of course. Because Charles the Bold had decreed that the beer brewed for the infirmary "for the Beguines and their officials" was free of consumption taxes and duties.

Today the brewery is owned by the Van Breedam family - now in the 5th generation!

Our tip: Try a glass of "Maneblusser", a blond beer of 5.8% vol. with a light citrus aroma and a fine aftertaste, brewed using the traditional top fermentation method.

Why is it called that? On the night of January 27-28, 1687, the moon cast its shine on the spire of St. Rombouts, which was shrouded in mist. "Fire, the tower is burning!" shouted a drunk. The alarm bell rang everyone from their sleep. But when they were at the church to save the house of God, the moon shone gently through the haze. Since then the people of Mechelen have been called "Maneblusser", or "moon extinguishers".

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4.91 km

Great Beguinage

Highlight • Historical Site

Enjoy the silence in the small streets of the Great Beguinage and discover why this ancient city within the city has earned a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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5.50 km

Klapgat medieval alleyway

Highlight • Historical Site

The Klapgat is a tiny medieval alley opposite the tower of the church of St. John. Churchgoers used to catch up in this alley under the eye of Christ. That catching up happened so intensively that the alley was named 'Klapgat'.

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12.4 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

8.85 km

2.08 km

977 m

243 m

214 m

Surfaces

8.47 km

2.87 km

821 m

192 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Monday 12 October

22°C

13°C

63 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 22.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

March 17, 2024,CM Urban Walk Mechelen 2024

Today an Urban Walk is on the program. In Mechelen. We had already done this 3 years ago, but were still able to visit a number of different buildings such as the Mechelen Stadium, a church converted into a hotel, the toy museum and a practical department of the Tomas More college for the care of the sick. Once again …

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September 18, 2025,Wandelend van Nekkerspoel door Mechelen

From Nekkerspoel station to Mechelen with its many historic buildings and churches, lit enough candles for the time being 😇 the walk combined with a part of the street art route, there was a cute little car that I would never, ever dare to drive through the city in.............

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