The Speelgoedmuseum has been one of Mechelen's most popular attractions for decades, partly because it works equally well for adults and children. The collection of more than seven thousand objects on display covers tin soldiers, dolls and dolls' houses, mechanical toys, board games, model trains, and a complete Märklin-scale railway running through a fantasy landscape on the top floor.
It is genuinely one of the largest toy collections in Europe and is laid out chronologically through a former lace factory, so part of the appeal is wandering through industrial-scale rooms full of small things. Allow two hours.