Christmas is coming so what better time of the year to get out and enjoy some festive fun in Belgium.
The country is brimming with some great things to do over the holiday period to help keep young and old alike fully entertained.
Here below, in no particular order, are some ideas compiled by this website.
- “Bright Festival,” Brussels’ festival of lights, returns from 13 to 16 February to warm hearts in the depths of winter. Two routes will allow the public to rediscover some of the capital’s most emblematic locations in a new light, through 20 installations by national and international artists. Events will also be organised in museums and shops along the route.
- The car museum Autoworld ends the year with a major exhibition celebrating an iconic automotive brand: Maserati. To mark the 110th anniversary of the legendary marque it hosts ‘Maserati 110 Years’ from 20 December to 23 February 2025. There will be 40 Maserati cars – each model a masterpiece – put together in collaboration with Alfieri Magazine, Classiche Masters, ACG Maserati Ghent & Brussels, Cadycars Ieper, and the renowned Umberto Panini Motor Museum.
- “Burlesque” is a cabaret show which Garcia has choreographed by Belgian artist Felipe Garcia.It seeks to highlight Belgian talents, both in production and interpretation and is mainly made up of French-speaking Belgians. It combines dance, performance, acrobats and music and magic and is performed at Ittre for 16 successive days over the holiday.
- “Lanterna Magica” is a part walk, part show experience that lights up the picturesque Domaine de La Hulpe estate which is festooned with lanterns, forest creatures and no end of fascinating nature scenes over a 2.5km walking course which illuminated with more than 1,200 projectors and 20,000 LEDs. There’s also an ice rink and the walk around the site lasts between 1h and 1h30.
- China Light ZOO takes place at ZOO Planckendael, Mechelen which is also illuminated with a colourful light show.The Dragons of the North festival is on the theme of mythical figures of the Far North and, for the fourth year in a row the event is again being held at the outdoor animal park until January 5. It is made up of more than 60 compositions and 1,000 luminous objects scattered throughout the park.
- Le Roy d’Espagne’ in Brussels’ lovely Grand Place has transformed its hidden spaces into a veritable Christmas treasure trove. Visitors can explore the restaurant’s secret nooks and crannies, discovering enchanting surprises at every turn. The beautifully decorated rooms take you on an enchanted, gradual journey to “Santa’s Land.”
- The annual Christmas concert takes place at Brussels’ Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula on December 27 at 5pm and is again organized by the association ARS in Cathedrali. The concert features the Choir of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and features works by César Franck, Théodore Dubois et Clémence de Grandval.
- Brussels’ annual Christmas market, “Winter Wonders”, has transformed the capital into a large Christmas village that attracts more than 4m visitors each year. The Grand Place features a tree, nativity scene and evening sound and light show, plus there are over 250 wooden chalets, a Ferris wheel, ice and curling rinks. Runs until January 5.
- Why not push the boat out on an Xmas treat at “Momo La Crevette whose chef/owner Thierry Vanholsbeek offers the best of the sea in a refined and welcoming setting. It is located in Waterloo, just a stone’s throw away from the capital but without the traffic and parking problems of the latter.
With its menu which revolves exclusively around fish and shrimp, Momo la crevette has become an essential address not just locally but for people who travel to it from Brussels.
- Looking ahead to the New Year, Orchidee Blanche is a must visit resto for lovers of Asian food. The most important festival of the year in Vietnam is on January 29, the start of Year of the Snake. Food is an important component of the celebrations and this resto in Ixelles is arguably the longest-established Vietnamese restaurant Belgium.
Katia Nguyen is the Vietnamese-born owner and it also showcases some of the wonderful and beautiful traditional Vietnamese tunics worn by women in her homeland. She often brings these back with her to Belgium when she travels to the Far East.
Little wonder that Eurocrats from the EU institutions such as the European commission and parliament and other related places have made this the restaurant of their choice be it for lunch or dinner.
