The majestic Flemish city is dotted with renaissance palaces, great bars and eye-catching contemporary art – yet it’s firmly off the tourist trail

Arriving in Belgium on the Eurostar, it is always tempting to continue on to a popular weekend destination like Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp. But this time I hop on a local train at the Brussels Gare du Midi for the 30-minute journey to Mechelen, a surprisingly grand and opulent city that in the 16th century was capital of most of the Low Countries – Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Despite boasting an eclectic mix of medieval churches and renaissance palaces, eye-catching contemporary art and culture venues, great bars, restaurants and the obligatory Belgian brewery, it remains delightfully uncrowded, unspoilt and firmly off the tourist trail.