Daytrip possibilities from Antwerp are infinite. By train you could get pretty much anywhere in Belgium within four hours at the very most; the Dutch border is only about 15 kilometers (10 miles) away, and western Germany (e.g. Aachen, Cologne; known as Aken and Keulen in Dutch), eastern France (e.g. Lille, Rijssel in Dutch) and Luxembourg are all within easy reach.

But you don't even have to go that far for a worthwhile excursion. In this month's guide are three suggestions for daytrips within the province of Antwerp.

Fort of Breendonk (Willebroek)
Built in 1906 as part of the ring of forts around Antwerp, Breendonk is best known for its function as an SS prison camp during World War II. It served as a transit camp rather than an actual concentration camp, but it surely wasn't a nice place. Today there's an excellent museum, open from 9.30am to 5pm from October to March, and to 6pm from April to September (you have to be there at least 45 minutes before closing time to be let in; tickets cost BEF120/EUR€2.97). For more info visit the Breendonk Homepage (www.breendonk.be/), call 03/886.62.09 or e-mail info@breendonk.be. You can get to Willebroek by train via Mechelen (about 40 minutes).

Kalmthout Heath
This nature reserve lies in the region east of Antwerp known as "de Kempen", and is ideal for long walks, preferably in autumn or spring (in summer the area sometimes gets closed off due to fire hazard). The landscape is dominated by pine trees, peat moors and lots of sand. Most walking trails start from Putsesteenweg, where you can also find the nature education centre "De Vroente", and the tourist office (tel. 03/666.61.01). Wear watertight shoes (trust me, I learned the hard way. Slow trains to Roosendaal stop in Kalmthout (about half an hour).

Mechelen
Mechelen is a city halfway between Antwerp and Brussels. It has a nice old town, dominated by the Sint-Rombouts Cathedral. Also worth a visit is its zoo, Planckendael (open 9am to somewhere between 4.30 and 6.15 pm, depending on time of year; tickets cost BEF490/EUR€12.15 for adults and BEF315/EUR€7.81 for children between 3 and 11).

Children will also enjoy the toy museum (www.speelgoedmuseum.be) opposite the Mechelen Nekkerspoel train station (open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm; tickets cost BEF205 /EUR&euro5.08 for adults and BEF145/EUR€3,59 for children under 12) It takes about 15 minutes to get to Mechelen by train.

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