Mechelen

Mechelen (Malines in French), north of Brussels, is a small, peaceful gem that has preserved its medieval and Renaissance past but that, unlike Brugge, is never overrun with tourists. As the residence of the Roman Catholic Primate of Belgium, it's an important ecclesiastical center. It's also a center of vegetable production: the town and its environs are known for witloof, the Belgian delicacy known elsewhere as chicory or endive, and asparagus, whose stalks reach their height of perfection in May.