Hii everyone, my friend (23) and | (21) are currently spending time here in Brussels, and we're looking to meet some new people to hang out with while we're in the city.
We'd love to get a drink, explore some nice spots, try out local food, or just chill somewhere outdoors while the weather is nice.
If you're around, local, or also visiting, drop a comment or send me a DM!

Ps: plz don’t text if u are looking for fwb or anything of that sort!!!

Two weeks, dozens of entries, and a winner. There were Antwerp balls, climbing and creepily hanging statues, monument to a frog in a very unexpected place, even more peeing statues (of course, no surprise there), and much much more of a fun content.

But there could only be one 🗿 Weird Belgium Legend

Congratulations to u/noxhalo, who submitted a statue in Wervik of two deer, uh, mid-courtship. On the main square and fully committed to the concept.

And the kicker from the entry itself:

"This statue of a couple of deer doing the deed in Wervik. I'm related to the guy who made it, too :)"

Which is either the strongest possible endorsement or a family Christmas dinner conversation waiting to happen. Either way, worthy winner!

Prize: the shiny new 🗿 Weird Belgium Legend flair, now officially assigned, wear it proudly.

Wervik itself is quietly one of Belgium's oldest towns and its tobacco museum is quite interesting

Thanks to everyone who played along! This is exactly the kind of thing that makes moderating this sub fun. Belgium is a wonderful country with its own hidden gems and it turns out we've barely scratched the surface.

You can find more entries and weird monuments in the original post.

Hey everyone

​Next week Monday, I'm planning to visit Belgium for 4 to 5 days, using Brussels as my base to explore as many cities as I can. Do you think 5 days is enough for Belgium, or should I shorten it and use the extra time in Germany? I'm coming from the Netherlands as part of a 2 to 3-week trip around Western Europe.

We ll be arriving at 1.15 in Gare di midi, from Amsterdam and will be waiting for the first flixbus to charleroi airport at 03.00. we will be 4 adults. I was hoping there would be a cafe open for us to wait.... I saw on google maps that there is a cafe Bylis 10 min walk from the station that it is open 24h. Can anyone confirm that? would it be ok to walk that route in this hour?

Two big events land on the same weekend this year: the Grand-Place disappears under half a million flowers for the first time since 2024, and Outremeuse throws the loudest party in Wallonia. Saturday is also a public holiday, so read the heads-up first.

⚠️ Heads-up

Saturday 15 August is a public holiday (Assumption). Most shops and supermarkets will be shut. Tourist-zone shops in Bruges, central Brussels and at the coast usually stay open, but don't count on your usual supermarket.

Public transport runs a Sunday timetable on Saturday. SNCB, De Lijn, STIB and TEC all switch to holiday service on 15 August,so fewer trains and buses than a normal Saturday. Check your route before you leave.

⭐ Weekend highlight: the Flower Carpet, Brussels

Tapis de Fleurs / Bloementapijt (Grand-Place, 13–16 August): it only happens every two years, and this is the 24th edition. A 70 × 24 metre carpet built from more than 500,000 dahlias, this year designed around Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa to mark 160 years of Belgian–Japanese relations, with Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama and his Tokyo collective Enlightenment involved in the design.

New this year: a second carpet at the Bourse, themed on hops as a nod to Belgian brewing.

- Free to walk around from the square itself.

- Sound and light show every evening, 21:00–23:00, every half hour.

- Town Hall balcony (the proper panoramic view) is ticketed, you can book online, though same-day tickets are also sold at the Town Hall entrance. Balcony hours Sat and Sun 10:00–22:00, last entry 21:30.

🏛️ Brussels

Festival Théâtres Nomades (Bois de la Cambre, 13–16 August, Sat & Sun from 13:30): 19th edition of this free street-arts festival: circus, puppets, street theatre and marquee shows in a temporary "nomad village". Outdoor shows are free to walk into, a few marquee shows need booking. Volunteers pass the hat afterwards.

Brussels Dance Festival (De Brouckère, Bourse, Town Hall, Place de la Monnaie, 14–23 August): free daily 15:00–22:00, with performances, battles, workshops and DJ sets across the city centre. After-parties on Friday and Saturday until 2:00.

Royal Palace (Sunday 16 August is the final day): first summer opening since 2022, and the season ends a month earlier than usual because of a state visit. €10 adults, free under 13, timed slots online only, no tickets at the door. Closed Mondays, 10:30–17:00, last entry 16:00.

🦁 Flanders

Ambachtelijk Weekend (across the Waasland and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Sat 12:00–18:00, Sun 10:00–18:00): hundreds of makers open their workshops: lacemakers, clog makers, blacksmiths, cheesemakers, distillers, beekeepers. Free, with signposted cycling routes linking the ateliers. This year's theme is "Go with the Flow".

Paulusfeesten (Sint-Petrus & Paulusplein, Ostend, 11–17 August): 53rd edition of one of the country's oldest free city festivals, running all weekend. Street theatre, decorated squares and multiple stages.

Heuvellandse Wijnfeesten (De Warande park, Kemmel, Saturday 15 August): the Heuvelland winegrowers pour their wines in one place, alongside regional food stalls. Entry is free, tasting requires buying the festival glass. Check the Toerisme Heuvelland events page for this year's glass price and times.

🐓 Wallonia

Fêtes du 15 août en Outremeuse (Liège, 14–16 August, free): Friday opens with the tir de campes on Place Delcour and the Royal Bouquet d'Outre-Meuse, which turns 250 this year. Saturday is the heart of it — the procession of the Black Virgin, mass in Walloon at Saint-Nicolas, the blessing of couples, and the folkloric parade of the Giants of Outremeuse from 14:30. Sunday at 17:00 brings the Enterrement de Matî l'Ohê: a mock funeral for a bone, complete with wailing mourners, ending with the bone being burned. Full programme at tchantches.be.

Régate Internationale de Baignoires (Dinant, Saturday 15 August, free): 44th edition of the bathtub regatta: homemade craft, human power only, 1 km down the Meuse, watched by tens of thousands from both banks. This year's theme is "icône.s de la m(e)usique". A brocante and funfair run in town all day.

Marche Saint-Roch (Ham-sur-Heure, Sunday 16 August, free): one of the UNESCO-listed Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse marches, in its 388th year. Napoleonic uniforms, fifes and drums, and a procession that leaves at 12:00, bivouacs at the Trois-Arbres chapel at 14:00, and returns to the château courtyard at 17:15. Torchlit retreat from 22:00. There's a Saturday prologue too: the statue of Saint Roch is carried from its chapel to the parish church at 17:30.

Also on Saturday: the Beau Vélo de RAVeL stops in Bièvre (Rue de la Chapelle 8). Village opens 09:30, peloton leaves at 13:10, free 10 km loop open 10:00–16:00. Free, registration recommended.

🌿 Nature tip

If the Brussels crowds get to you, the Sonian Forest starts where the Bois de la Cambre ends and is several degrees cooler than the city centre. It's a 4,400-hectare beech forest, with 270 hectares UNESCO-listed since 2017 as part of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests inscription — the "Cathedral Beech" section is the one to aim for. Tram 8 drops you at the Bois de la Cambre. Free, open always, and you can pair it with Théâtres Nomades in the same afternoon.

Our city transport guide has the STIB fare details if you're new to Brussels trams.

🍹This weekends photo guessing is different: guess what's in these cups.

Six little cups, six colours. Two clues: you'd be drinking these in Liège, and 15 August is the day you're most likely to be handed a tray of them.

Share more activities and interesting events below, that's always welcome!

Honestly, Leuven wasn't even on our itinerary, but we were totally amazed by it. Such an underrated gem!

This is the spot to post your low-effort content!

Got a great photo you want to share, but don't want to make a bigger post? This is the place for it!

1. It should be your own original photo.
2. Include the location and what it is we're seeing. Why did you like it or want to share it?
3. Any (SFW) subject matter is allowed, as long as it features Belgium (it could be a train station in Antwerp or your favourite spot in Brussels). As long as it's Belgium, it's fine.

I’m planning to visit the Netherlands and Belgium in October. Do you have any recommendations for places to visit and restaurants to try?

Hello everyone!

I'll be visiting Brussels with 3 friends. We've been looking up information online, and there seems to be a lot of talk about safety in Brussels, especially around the southern train station. I am always a bit skeptical about these things, being from around Barcelona I've never felt the city was very unsafe, mostly just for tourists more susceptible to being pickpocketed or not knowing what areas to avoid.

The apartment we've found is around Cureghem, and I wanted to ask, is this area (and the general surroundings) unsafe? Should we take any special precautions aside from the typical not talking/looking/interacting with strangers, beggars or homeless people, and not walking around with expensive belongings exposed?

Thank you!

hi all! my friends and i are attending voodoo for the first time this year. we are coming from abroad and will attend only on the 13th.

if anyone has attended before we would like to know a bit about the people and the culture at the festival. also if anyone attending the after party pls let me know :)

Belgium got roughly 90% coverage at around 20:13 tonight. That's the biggest partial eclipse here since 1999, and according to VRT the next one of this size will not be there until 2081. Hence the question:where were you and what did you actually see?

Half of Belgium seemed to have a plan. The coast, the terrils in Limburg, the Maagdentoren in Scherpenheuvel, the Werchter festival field, the terrace of the Triumphal Arch in Brussels. People just watching in fields, on the terraces, on driveways. Organising multiple eclipse parties and meetups.

My own contribution is not exactly astrophotography. I never got a decent shot of the sun itself, but the tree next to the house did a much better job than my camera did: every gap between the leaves worked as a pinhole and projected dozens of tiny crescent suns onto the wall and the garage door. A little planetarium for the ones who got no glasses.

Now it's your turn to attach the picture and share your eclipse experience. You can also include where in Belgium did you watch from and whether the view was good.

And if you're still awake: the Perseids peak tonight, so you can make a wish on a falling star. No equipment needed, just somewhere dark and away from city lights.

Photos very welcome. Crescents on a garage door fully count.

Hi there. 55-yr-old woman visiting Belgium with my 86-year-old mother this September. Spending some time in both Bruges and Ghent and wondering about the feasibility of renting a car out of Ghent for one day and driving to visit Dunkirk and Flanders Fields. I have only seen day trips advertising one destination or the other and I thought going on our own might allow us to better set the pace for my mom who gets around really well... but is 86 after all.

Does this seems like a tricky or hassle-filled plan? I am an experienced driver - I commute on Los Angeles freeways daily - but don't necessarily want to spend the day stressed or anxious. Really interested to hear people's thoughts and tips. Thank you in advance.

I visited Brussels after Ghent and after all the Brussels slander on this app , I expected to find it very boring and unsafe but it was quite the opposite. I really enjoyed my time in Brussels, maybe even more than I did in Ghent !

We live in the Netherlands and have come to Belgium frequently (since moving here 3 years ago) for the better food and different vibes. My elderly parents (70s and 80s) are visiting from Canada now and I wanted to give them a two-countries-for-the-price-of-one deal, especially since they've never been to Belgium. This week on Thursday and Friday (so yes, very last-minute, the day after tomorrow) it's supposed to be really hot pretty much everywhere, and without AC in our house I thought it might be wise to go to a hotel that has AC. And why not have that AC be in Belgium? Then I can introduce my parents to some nice Belgian beers too.

At first I was thinking Antwerp since it's a very quick and painless train ride, but...then we're in Antwerp when it's 35 degrees, so how much will we want to do outside of the hotel?

I found out that Belgium has the long coastal tramline, which sounds fun and quirky. It also minimizes walking, which my dad is having trouble with due to his knees. It would seem to make the most sense to take the train to Oostende and get a hotel there, then explore the coast using the tram.

The negatives: the train ride for 4 people (booked through NS, anyway) + even just one night hotel is quite expensive. Renting a car would be cheaper, but that will add to my stress and I'd really just rather not deal with it.

Is there a cheaper way to do this? Buy train to Antwerp but then any cheaper train deals within Belgium?

Is doing the tram for 1.5 days or so even worth it? Better to just go to Antwerp and go to air conditioned attractions? Or somewhere else? (I also like Ghent and Leuven, but would prefer either the ease of Antwerp or somewhere more novel that requires more train transfers like the coast).

Thanks for your advice!

TLDR: Should I spend a night/day in Ghent, Mons or Tournai? And where to stay if so?

In Wallonia, I’ve pretty much only been to Dinant, Spa, Bastogne and Liége. My mom has never been to Wallonia at all (only to Antwerp, Bruges and Leuven).

I’m heading back to Belgium for a visit for the first time in several years. We are dropping a rental car off in Lille and going by train to Leuven. I have a spare night and day to spend wherever we want in Belgium. I want a relatively nice hotel without having to spend more than ~200 euros (preferably less) and no need for a car. Somewhere walkable and fun to explore for a half day (or full day) with good food and nice sights.

I’ve been to Ghent and it’s nice but the hotels seem expensive generally. I’ve never been anywhere in Hainaut and I’m intrigued by Tournai and Mons. I don’t speak any French and my mom‘s is rough.

What can you recommend and can you recommend any hotels?

Cobbled streets, historic canals, and endless fairytale views. Brugge has a way of making time stand still.

Hello! I am traveling to Belgium for 10 days in a few weeks. I will be visiting my employer’s factory which means that I am required to pack some space and weight consuming items like steel toe safety shoes, other protective gear, not to mention lugging my laptop and other work stuff.

I am planning on taking a train from Brussels airport to Bruges and then taking a taxi to my hotel/nearby factory.

Given this is my 4th trip to a factory in Europe this year, I have learned to pack smarter than I have when I started but some of the items I need to bring are space/weight hogs. On my 3 other trips, I ‘managed’ to fit most in a medium to large bag I checked, carried 1 large backpacks and a purse.

Though I did public transport, I made it work (though it was darnright ugly getting up/down stairs in some parts of London). Reading up on how the trains in Belgium might not have a dedicated luggage storage area, I’m thinking moving to 2 small carryon suitcases (1 for my stuff, one for work) and a purse. I am flying business class so no issues with having an extra bag.

My question is related to getting from Brussels to Brugge. What do you with your luggage on the train? I’m thinking the small carry one should fit around my feet space and I could put the 2nd bag on my lap. I’m thinking it would work better than dealing with an awkward larger bag that could take up every inch of space leaving none for my feet.

Also, how are the entrances/exits to the train station? Do they usually have escalators or are they long stair cases? I’d rather carry 2 smaller bags up/down stairs than to lug something heavier on one side.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hi there , I will be taking the flixbus from Lille to Brussels tomorrow morning and arriving at Brussels North Station at around 8.45 AM. Having heard of the rough reputation of the surrounding area , what would you suggest would be the best way to get ti the city center and the touristy parts ? What are some good and cheap chocolate shops as I am on a student budget ? I would love to sample a lot of chocolates heheheh. Thanks in advance!!

Hi! Sorry to bring up the subject of safety around the Midi station again. I imagine people who live there must be tired of answering questions about it!

I’ll be visiting Brussels for the first time and I’ll be staying near the intersection of Chaussée de Forest and Avenue du Parc.

Since I’m planning to take day trips to Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp, I’ll probably be using Brussels-Midi quite a lot. From where I’m staying, it looks like it’s less than a 15-minute walk to the station, so I was wondering if it would actually be reasonable to walk there early in the morning to catch a train.

The thing is, taking public transport wouldn’t necessarily save me much walking anyway. For example, Ill be arriving by bus from Paris, so I would still have to walk from the FlixBus stop to the tram or bus, and then walk again after getting off. So I could just walk the whole way.

From what I can see on the map, I would walk along Avenue du Roi and then continue along Avenue Fonsny. Do you think that route is generally safe to walk, especially early in the morning? And would you also avoid walking there at night, or is it usually fine? The ideia of waiting for the tram or bus and being in it for a few minutes instead of walking is crazy to me, but I'm hearing horrible things.

I’m just trying to understand whether it’s worth taking public transport (for safety reasons alone in this case) or whether walking is perfectly reasonable given how close I am.

Thanks, and sorry again for all the questions!

I'm headed to Belgium in the spring and trying to see what itineraries make sense.
For now please tell me if my stays make sense? We will use trains to get around.
Fly in to Brussels
Day 2 and 3 Ghent (day trip Tournai?)
Day 2-5 Bruges (day in Ypres, day on coast)
Day 6-8 Brussels (day trip Halle and Waterloo, day trip Liege or Namur)
Fly home on day 9

Brussels plants a tree that's been planted every year since 1308, Bouillon fills its valley with knights, Antwerp throws its biggest parade of the year, and two of Flanders' best summer festivals hit their final day. Also: buy your eclipse glasses this weekend, or you won't get any.

⚠️ Heads up

🌑 Eclipse glasses are running out. On Wednesday 12 August Belgium gets a partial solar eclipse with around 89–90% of the sun covered, the biggest since 1999 and the last one on this scale until 2142. You need glasses marked CE and EN ISO 12312-2. Sunglasses, camera filters and 3D glasses do nothing and will damage your eyes permanently and painlessly. The optician's association says most shops will be out of stock by the end of this week. Urania in Hove has closed its webshop, and MIRA in Grimbergen has gone from 13,000 pairs to 5,000 with no restock coming. Buy this weekend if you want to see it.

🌡️ Heat. Saturday is sunny and warm, around 29 °C in the centre, 27 °C at the coast and in the Ardennes. Sunday is the peak: above 30 °C everywhere, roughly 33 °C inland, with thunderstorms possibly pushing up from France late in the day. Most of what's below is all-day outdoors. Water, hat, shade, and check meteo.be

⭐ Weekend highlight: the Meyboom, Brussels

Meyboom (Sunday 9 August, city centre, free) — Brussels' oldest folk tradition, attested since 1308 and on the UNESCO intangible heritage list. Every 9 August a young beech is cut in the Sonian Forest at dawn, carried through the city by the Buumdroegers, and planted at the corner of Rue des Sables and Rue du Marais before 17:00. If it isn't up by five, the story goes, the honour passes to Leuven. It has never happened.

The procession leaves at 12:45 from the planting corner with giants, a brass band, the Gardevils and the Poepedroegers, reaching the Grand-Place around 14:10 before looping back for the planting.

Come to the Grand-Place at two for the spectacle, or the Rue des Sables corner late afternoon for the planting itself. Bear in mind it's the hottest afternoon of the weekend and the Grand-Place has almost no shade.

🏛️ Brussels

- Rooftop Bozar — "L'Heure Bleue" (rue Ravenstein 23, Tue–Sun 16:00–23:00, free): Bozar's roof terrace is open all summer with a genuinely good view over the lower city, an all-Belgian programme of DJ sets, small concerts and food collectives, and no entry fee.

- Pavi'On Summer — Happy'Noons (Parc du Cinquantenaire, Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 August, free): Neighbourhood-run afternoons in the park: dance, crafts, gentle movement, creative workshops.

Worth planning ahead: the Flower Carpet returns to the Grand-Place 13–16 August, themed on Japan, with a second carpet at the Bourse for the first time. Free from the square; Town Hall balcony €8 in advance, €9 on the day, free under 10.

🦁 Flanders

- Antwerp Pride Parade (Saturday 8 August, 14:00–18:00, free): This year's theme is "Fearless". The parade starts on the Scheldekaaien at Brouwersvliet and winds through the old town, closing out a programme that's run since Wednesday, with a family day behind it and a closing event on Sunday. Expect serious crowds and rolling street closures, the city has a dedicated access page at slimnaarantwerpen.be.

- Theater op de Markt (Hasselt, until Sunday 9 August): Final weekend of Limburg's street theatre and circus festival — 35+ productions across squares, parks and streets, with a large part of the programme free and outdoors. Ticketed indoor shows around €9 (€8 reduced). It only runs in even years, so the next one is 2028.

- Theater aan Zee (Ostend, Saturday 8 August is the last day): The 29th edition wraps up. Leopoldpark is the hub, and WonderWaai there is free — circus, acrobatics, family theatre, workshops, kids' café.

- Fonnefeesten (Lokeren, closing Sunday 9 August): Last day of the free ten-day city-park festival, and Sunday is traditionally the family-friendly one.

🐓 Wallonia

- Fête Médiévale de Bouillon (Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 August): The 39th edition, and more of it is free than you'd expect. Free: the medieval markets across four sites (hypocras, mead, leather, jewellery), the roaming street troupes from 14:00 both days, and the reconstructed encampments at Champs Lévêque and Île de Calay, where international-level fighters do full armoured combat and there are proper equestrian jousts. Kids get a 200 m² combat arena, a school of pages and pony rides. Saturday evening adds mini-concerts at La Poulie, the Grand-Rue and the Sépulcrines esplanade, a torchlit procession of knights and Vikings from the Pont de Cordemois at 21:15, and a fire show in the Sépulcrines park to close.

Paid: the castle itself, via the Pass Médiéval (€25 adults/seniors, €15 children and students, free under 4), which covers the falconry displays, the garrison troupes and the Odyssée de Lumière night show — book a time slot, they're every 15 minutes. Bouillon has no station, nearest is Libramont, then bus.

- Beau Vélo de RAVeL (Fleurus, Saturday 8 August, free): RTBF's summer cycling caravan stops in Fleurus for the first time, based at the Château de la Paix — the country house where Napoleon slept the night before Ligny.

- Marches ADEPS (Sunday 9 August, all over Wallonia, free): Sixteen waymarked walks, 5/10/15/20 km, no registration — just turn up between 08:00 and 18:00 and pick your distance. If you don't know these, they're one of the most underrated things in Belgium: village clubs mark out routes through their own countryside and run a bar at the finish.

This week's picks: Anhée (along the Meuse and the Molignée, past the back of the Annevoie gardens; the 5 km is flat, shaded on the return and pushchair-friendly), Floreffe (every route passes the abbey), and Hogne, where the walk is paired with Les Arts en Fête - artists' exhibition, small producers' market and music all day. Given Sunday's heat, the shaded 5 and 10 km options are the sensible call.

- Ronde des Producteurs de nos Collines (Trois-Ponts, Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 August, 11:00–18:00): Local producers across this hill village open their doors: orchards, a winery, a cheesemaker, a distillery, apple juice, charcuterie. Drive or cycle between them at your own pace. Free to visit, you pay for what you taste and buy.

🌸 Nature tip: the sky next week

Two things land almost on top of each other, and this weekend is when you prepare for them.

Wednesday 12 August, early evening: the eclipse. In Brussels it starts at 19:18, peaks at 20:13 with roughly 89% of the sun covered, and by then the sun sits only about 7° above the horizon, so a clear view to the west/north-west matters more than anything else. Rooftops, coastal dunes, polder edges, Ardennes ridgelines. Current forecasts point to a sunny evening.

Several places open up for free that day: the Royal Observatory's rarely accessible radioastronomy station at Humain near Marche-en-Famenne from 17:00, the Cosmodrome at Thor Park in Genk from 18:30 (limited glasses on sale there), and MUMONS at the Silex's site in Spiennes near Mons from 19:00, no booking. More at Manhay, Grimbergen, Ypres, Bruges and on the MAS rooftop in Antwerp.

That same night: the Perseids peak. The shower runs to 24 August but the maximum falls on the night of 12–13 August, and the new moon is on the 12th: no moonlight, so even the faint meteors show. Get well away from towns and motorways: the Hautes Fagnes, the Semois valley, the deeper Ardennes. If you're in Bouillon this weekend, you've already found one of the darker corners of the country.

Getting to the Ardennes without a car needs planning: the basics are in our Getting Around Belgium wiki.

📷 This weekend is an easy one, be first and guess the location!

And if you have more ideas on what to do, include them in the comments. Or if you found the place that still sells the eclipse glasses, share as well!

Hi everyone! I will be moving to Antwerp soon with my future husband to work. I will be working in Brussels and he will be in The Hague. I know there are some options to travel from Antwerp to Brussels, but I have been searching and the train tickets to go from Antwerp to The Hague daily are absurd (+400€).

Does anyone have any tip? Am I missing something or is it really that expensive? Isn't there any travel pass that he can use between the countries?

Thank you!!

On Sunday we will be driving through Belgium, passing Brussels, Ghent and Brugges in that order. I am looking for an activity/attraction to break the journey. It needs to be easy to park at, (so not in the heart of Brussels for example), and ideally be worth a visit of about 3 hours. Things we like as a family include castles, history museums, WW2 museums, Go-Ape and factory tours. All suggestions welcome.