Mol is a town of about 37,000 inhabitants in the Kempen region of northeastern Belgium, an area of heathland, pine forests, and sandy soil that feels distinctly different from the rest of Flanders. The town's main attraction is its artificial beaches — old sand quarries from the glass industry that have been flooded and transformed into popular swimming lakes, drawing crowds from across the region on summer weekends.
The Zilvermeer recreation park is the best known of these, with a large sandy beach, watersports, and a campsite. Families come for the day, and on hot weekends it can feel like half of Antwerp province has decamped here. Beyond the beaches, the surrounding Kempen landscape is excellent for cycling — flat, quiet roads wind through heathland and woods, and the area is criss-crossed with well-marked cycling routes.
Mol's town center is pleasant but modest, with a market square, a few cafes, and the obligatory Belgian frituur. The town is also home to Belgium's nuclear research center (SCK CEN), established in the 1950s, which lends an unexpected high-tech dimension to what is otherwise a quiet Flemish community. The Kempen region as a whole is underrated for visitors — if you want to see a side of Belgium far removed from the medieval cities and tourist crowds, this is a good place to start.