What's on in Brussels (Bruxelles), Belgium through the year

Peak crowds — Winter Wonders, Winter (Christmas) holidays in Belgium

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter Wonders (27 Nov – 3 Jan (usually))

Busy — Krokusvakantie (Carnival) holidays in Belgium, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Paasvakantie (Easter) holidays in Belgium, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Brussels Jazz Weekend, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Brussels Jazz Weekend

  22–24 May · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Three days of free concerts on the central squares and in the bars behind them, usually the weekend before the end of May. Nothing to book, which is the point of it. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Ommegang

  28 Jun – 6 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalBook early

  A costumed pageant of some fourteen hundred people, giants and horses staged on the Grand-Place over two evenings at the start of July. Grandstand seats are ticketed and go early. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Belgian National Day, Zomervakantie (summer) holidays in Belgium

• Holiday

  Belgian National Day

  20–21 JulNational holidayClosures

  The military parade and the fair in the Parc de Bruxelles on 21 July, with the palace and several ministries open to anyone who queues. Shops and offices shut for the day. Source ↗

• Closure

  The August lull

  25 Jul – 20 Aug · usually

  The institutions rise for the summer and the city goes with them: neighbourhood restaurants close for a fortnight, the tram is empty, and the museums are the easiest they will be all year. Source ↗

Still on: Ommegang (28 Jun – 6 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Flower Carpet, Zomervakantie (summer) holidays in Belgium

• Festival

  Flower Carpet

  13–16 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Every second August, in even years, some seven hundred thousand dahlias are laid out across the Grand-Place for four days. The balcony of the Maison du Roi is the only view that reads as a pattern. Source ↗

Still on: The August lull (25 Jul – 20 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Peak crowds — Winter Wonders, Herfstvakantie (autumn) holidays in Belgium

• Festival

  Winter Wonders

  27 Nov – 3 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The market runs from the Bourse down to Sainte-Catherine with a rink and a big wheel, from the end of November to the first days of January. The sound-and-light show on the Grand-Place is on the hour. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Winter Wonders, Winter (Christmas) holidays in Belgium

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Winter Wonders (27 Nov – 3 Jan (usually))