landmark
Ghent
Vibrant medieval Flemish city with stunning canal-side architecture, the Gravensteen castle, and the famous Ghent Altarpiece.
11 km · about 20 min drive
EuropeBelgiumFlanders
Melsen
Flanders, Belgium · Europe
About Melsen
Melsen is worth a stop: 5 minutes from Gavere, 11km from Gravensteen.
Melsen is in Flanders, Belgium, with about 1,400 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Gavere, about 4 km away.
Melsen is a village in the province of East Flanders, Belgium, and is a part of the municipality of Merelbeke. It covers an area of roughly 3 square kilometers. Its terrain is largely made up of one great hill. The northern and southern slopes of the hill, which are fairly steep for the surrounding area (about 20Read more
meters), form the natural boundaries with the bordering villages of Vurste and Schelderode. The eastern slopes of the hill evolve into agricultural land and farther east into the forest of Makkegem. The western slope descends into a marsh that is connected to the Schelde (Scheldt) river.
Most of the land used to be for agricultural purposes, or covered with forests and marshes, but now most of the western and northern part of the village is almost fully covered by a network of streets and houses. Only some fields on the borders of the village remain.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Melsen?
Within an hour or so of Melsen: Ghent (11 km), Gravensteen (11 km), Saint Bavo's Cathedral Ghent (11 km), Bruges Markt (43 km).
Are there any good drives near Melsen?
The nearest famous roads are Koninklijke Baan Coast Road, Brouwersdam and Chimay Street Circuit.
Where is Melsen?
Melsen is in Flanders, Belgium, about 4 km from Gavere.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 1,416
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Belgium
- Region
- Flanders
- Timezone
- Europe/Brussels
- Coordinates
- 50.9562, 3.6957
Tags
Worth the detour from Melsen
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
castle
Gravensteen
A grim moated stone castle of the Counts of Flanders rising straight from the canals in the centre of Ghent.
11 km · about 20 min drive
cathedral
Saint Bavo's Cathedral Ghent
This Gothic cathedral guards the Van Eyck brothers' luminous Ghent Altarpiece, a landmark of European painting.
11 km · about 20 min drive
landmark
Bruges Markt
The medieval heart of Bruges, where the climbable Belfry tower looms over a square of stepped-gable guild houses.
43 km · about 50 min drive
landmark
Pairi Daiza
Belgium's most-visited attraction: a 75-hectare animal park built around a former Cistercian abbey in Hainaut, with full-scale Chinese, Indonesian and Middle Kingdom gardens housing giant pandas, gorillas and elephants.
43 km · about 50 min drive
cafe
Café Vlissinghe
Bruges tavern serving continuously since 1515: likely Belgium's oldest café, with a Flemish Renaissance interior, a stove-warmed main room and a boules garden out back; Van Dyck is said to have paid in paintings.
43 km · about 50 min drive
film location
Belfry of Bruges (In Bruges)
The 83m medieval belfry that Ray climbs and falls from in the climax of In Bruges.
43 km · about 50 min drive
landmark
Atomium
Futuristic building in Brussels shaped like an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, built for the 1958 World Expo.
46 km · about 55 min drive
Driving roads near Melsen
- 46 kmWestern Scheldt TunnelAt 6.6 km the longest road tunnel in the Netherlands, diving under the busy Western Scheldt shipping lane to link Zeeland with Zeelandic Flanders since 2003.
- 46 kmWesterscheldetunnelTolled 6.6-kilometre road tunnel under the Western Scheldt linking Zeelandic Flanders to Zuid-Beveland, replacing two ferries.
- 58 kmKoninklijke Baan Coast RoadThe N34 'Royal Road' hugs nearly the whole Belgian coast, sharing its corridor with the world's longest tram line and passing Belle Epoque De Haan, dunes and beach resorts.
- 74 kmOosterscheldekeringThe colossal storm-surge barrier crossing the Oosterschelde, the showpiece of Holland's Delta Works flood defences.
- 74 kmZeeland BridgeElegant 5 km bridge over the Oosterschelde estuary, the longest in the Netherlands when opened in 1965. Its endless procession of arches makes one of the country's most photogenic drives.
Driving in Belgium
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.74/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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