The IJzerenleen runs from the Grote Markt south to the Vismarkt and is one of the most distinctive streets in any Flemish city: about four times wider than its neighbours, with rows of trees and a double line of decorative iron railings ("ijzeren leen" — iron railings) down the centre. The railings were installed in 1531 on the orders of Charles V to stop carts from crossing what used to be the open city canal, which had been filled in here.
It is now the smartest shopping street in Mechelen, lined with handsome 17th and 18th-century houses, and worth a slow walk just for the unusual proportions.