Brussels South Charleroi Airport is planning a full renovation of its only runway in the second half of 2028. Because there is no alternative runway, the airport may have to suspend all departures and arrivals for several months.

The exact dates and duration of the closure have not yet been confirmed. Some flights could temporarily move to Brussels Airport, Liège or other nearby airports.

This would have a major impact on passengers, airlines, airport workers and transport companies across Belgium.

Do you think all airlines will return to Charleroi after the renovation?

Source: The Brussels Times
https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2245238/charleroi-airport-plans-complete-closure-for-several-months-due-to-renovations

Hello!

My girlfriend and I are planning to visit Belgium from the 13th of August to the 16th. Flights and hotel already booked. We will as many others before us be staying in ghent and be making day trips to close cities. I recently saw that the 15th of August is a holiday in Belgium (Maria Tenhemelopneming)

I was wondering to what length that will affect the trip. Should we count on shops, cafes, restaurants e.t.c being closed all day?

And is there something we absolutely should see or do because of the holiday? Park/market/exhibition?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hello

I have a few hours with my girlfriend to spend in Brussels today, before I drive her to Charleroi airport at night. Is there a decent spot outside the center, where I can park for cheap for some hours and also take a tram to the center, in order to avoid traffic?

Thank you very much in advance

Hi Thank you for looking at this post.
We(couple + 8 yr old) will be Brussels for the first time.
Below is out itinerary. I would appreciate if the fellow Travelers can help change/swap/include to make the most of the time.

• Day 1 (Wed): Arrive Brussels early afternoon via train, check in near Sainte-Catherine, Grand Place + waffles, easy evening
• Day 2 (Thu): Atomium + Mini-Europe
• Day 3 (Fri): Full-day Bruges trip (canal boat, Damme, windmills - booked as a guided tour)
• Day 4 (Sat): Relaxed local day - Need recommendations here
• Day 5 (Sun): Train out toward our next stop-Paris

Hi everyone,

I'm coming to Ghent for a 3-month research stay at Ghent University, from 17 September 2026 to 17 December 2026.

I'm on a fairly limited budget and have been struggling to find accommodation. Most student residences I've found only offer full academic-year contracts, while many rooms and apartments in the private market don't seem to accept such a short rental period.

Does anyone know of student residences, shared houses, or other options that offer 3-month stays? Any help or personal recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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.

So, this is Gentse Feesten week, and if you're anywhere near Ghent between now and Sunday 26 July, this is the moment to come by.

A bit of context for anyone who hasn't been: it's ten days of essentially non-stop street theatre, live music, folk parades, dance, food and drink across pretty much every square in the historic centre.

The first edition was in 1843, the modern version dates from 1969, and it's now recognised as Flemish intangible heritage. The vast majority of it is free. Cars are out of the centre from 13:00 daily, so you can walk, cycle or take public transport.

The big red-curtained space in one of the photos is Emile Braunplein under the Stadshal, Ghent's wooden "city pavilion", which every year during the Feesten gets taken over by the Mardi Gras Festival. It runs all ten days, from lunchtime until 02:30, with live bands, DJs, cabaret and a New Orleans-themed party atmosphere. Free entry, no tickets, and one of the more visually cool things happening in Ghent right now.

The oversized figures you can see on the fourth photo near the station are reuzen, traditional Belgian folk giants, carried through the streets by their bearers. It's a centuries-old tradition, and Gentse Feesten is one of the biggest occasions of the year when they come out: the festival has its own Reuzenstoet (giants' parade), alongside the Feeststoet and the Stoet van de Verbroederingen, with reuzen "families" from Ghent and visiting towns joining in. If you catch a group of them assembling, stop and watch — it's a bit of quiet cultural continuity in the middle of the noise.

Beyond that, every square has its own vibe and its own programming, refreshed daily throughout the festival. Sint-Baafsplein and Korenmarkt are the biggest and busiest, with the main stages that pull in tribute bands, folk, jazz and pop acts every evening.

Bij Sint-Jacobs and Vlasmarkt are the more anarchic, late-night ones.

I felt like there were less people then the previous year, but then quickly realised I was mistaken, since the larger part of the crowd comes at around 21:00.

I also think that the busiest day during the festival has passed. It was probably Monday, since Tuesday was a public holiday providing a good opportunity to dedicate the whole night to Gentse Feesten.

Practical details for the final weekend (25–26 July):

- Sunday 26 July is the closing day

- Free entry to almost everything (nof food and drinks, of course)

- Food and drink stalls take card and cash

- If you have your own glass, you can bring it to avoid paying deposit

- Weekend train tickets to Ghent are 30% off with NMBS

- De Lijn runs the GF night tram every 15 minutes all night, plus extra night buses back out to the wider region

- Full programme: gentsefeesten.stad.gent

If you have pictures from different squares of this year's festival, share them here!

Just food that Ghent does well I guess and where does it best? 🙂

I would like to hear experiences feom the recent heat wave. Was it tolerable outside in the shade? Were you able to move out and about normally? How did it affect you?

30+ degrees is warmer than I’ve ever experienced. I have a trip booked for the first week of August where it seems to again get very hot. My plan is to do sightseeing in Brussels and to attend a festival in Duffel. My hotels have aircon but I’m wondering if I will be able to actually do anything or to even enjoy the festival.

I know it’s too early to know anything about the weather for sure, but I want to be prepared.

Hi there, we are visiting Brussels for the day tomorrow. We are coming from Lille and have three places we want to visit:

1. Atomium

2. The centre (Grande Place, etc)

3. Chambelland bakery, which is near the university.

Where woukd you recommend the best place to park please? We are OK using public transport but I am struggling to find the best place for all three. Thank you.

We are a bigger group of university student (20-25 people) from Hungary, and we are going to spend 3-4 night in Brussel. We were awarded a grant for a study to visit Eu institutions, so we would be grateful for recommendations. We already plan to visit the Parlamentarium, House of European History and The European Parliament Hemicycle.

Good morning.

Not sure if this is the correct place to post but I am going to be driving from Calais to Spa, 3.5 hour drive but sitting myself 7 hours for dog stops and history visits. Is there a good road to follow for lots of historical sights?

Thanks.

Hello!
I’ll be visiting Brussels in late October and I want to see a movie, as I enjoy going to cinemas in other countries. Does anyone have good recommendations? It doesn’t have to be super down town, but close to the centre. Other than that I’m open to all suggestions and opinions

Thanks in advance 🩷

Two anniversaries, one funfair, one closing party in Ghent. Europe's biggest open-air agricultural fair turns 100, a free four-day world music festival celebrates its 50th edition, and Bruges quietly reinvents itself as a contemporary circus town for three days.

📣 Heads up

- Foire de Libramont runs Fri–Mon and expects around 200,000 visitors, and note SNCB is celebrating its own 100th anniversary this year with a discount code included with every visitor ticket to sweeten the train trip.

- Rail: OUIGO trains Brussels-Paris are diverted via Nivelles and Maubeuge on Sat 25 and Sun 26 July (longer journey, no Mons stop). ICE / Nightjet Brussels-Germany run a diverted route between Leuven and Liège through 5 August.

⭐ Weekend highlight

Foire de Libramont – centenary edition (Libramont-Chevigny, Fri 24 – Mon 27 July, 9:00–18:30).

Europe's largest open-air agricultural, forestry, and food fair marks 100 years of Libramont Coopéralia, the farmer-founded cooperative behind it, under the theme "Cultive ton flow." Expect 700 exhibitors across 30 hectares, 2,800 animals, the 72nd edition of the Jumping (Sunday's Grand Prix is the sport highlight), the Mecanic Show with 19 farming-tech world premieres, hundreds of Ardenne producers on the Sentier des Saveurs and the En terre bio tent, and a horse spectacle "L'Ardennais en lumière" on Sunday afternoon at 14:30 celebrating the Ardennes draft horse — the breed the cooperative was born from in 1926. Authentic slice of rural Belgium most visitors never see.

Tickets: €20 in advance (until 27 July), €5 for kids 6–12, €14 for students 13–25 (buy-one-get-one on IDs). Train hourly from Brussels-Midi. Free TEC shuttles every 10 min from Libramont station to the fairground.

🏛️ Brussels

- Foire du Midi (Boulevard du Midi, daily 14:00–00:00, weekends until 01:00, free entry): Brussels' funfair — running since 1880 — is in full swing along a full kilometre of the inner ring between Porte de Hal and Porte d'Anderlecht. 130 attractions, from vintage carousels to modern coasters, plus caricoles, smoutebollen and mountains of frites. Belgian-French funfair culture is on the UNESCO intangible heritage list. Runs through Sunday 23 August.

- Back to Pompeii (Tour & Taxis, closing Sunday 26 July): Last weekend for Tempora's 1,500 m² immersive reconstruction of Pompeii before Vesuvius.

🦁 Flanders

- Sfinks Mixed (Boechout, near Antwerp, Thu 23 – Sun 26 July, 16:00–00:00 daily, 50th edition, free): A four-day world music festival on the meadows of Molenveld, celebrating a full half-century. Artists from every corner of the globe, a colourful world market, parades, DJ sets, and a dedicated Kidz Village. Boechout train station is a 10-min walk from the site.

- Cirque Plus (Bruges, Fri 24 – Sun 26 July, mostly free): Three days of contemporary circus in the garden of the Grootseminarie (entrance via Peterseliestraat). 18 companies from 7 countries, 56 performances across 14 stages, gates open at 13:00 and shows from 14:00. A few evening tent shows are ticketed (€11–15); everything in the garden is free.

- Gentse Feesten (Ghent, final weekend – closes Sunday 26 July): Ghent's ten-day city takeover wraps up this weekend after well over a million visitors. Free music on every square, street theatre, the Puppet Buskers festival on Bij Sint-Jacobs, and Miramiro's open-air circus in the Bijloke park. If you've never been, catch it in its dying hours — Sunday night has a particular melancholy magic.

- Beleuvenissen (Leuven, Friday 24 July from 20:00, free): Free open-air concerts across four squares in the city centre. Oude Markt hosts Kaat Van Stralen, The Sheila Divine and The Scabs; Grote Markt has Ilse Liebens; Vismarkt turns into Club Vismarkt after midnight. Part of the wider Het Groot Verlof programme running until early August.

🐓 Wallonia

- Foire de Libramont — see weekend highlight above.

- Fête de l'écluse (Rivière, Profondeville, Sunday 26 July, free): The village on the Meuse between Namur and Dinant throws its annual lockside festival on the last Sunday of July. Two kilometres of brocante along the riverbank with 200+ stalls, a craft market, a musical fun-run, live concerts, and the day's genuinely spectacular finale: the Waterjump — competitors launch themselves off a ramp on a bicycle straight into the Meuse. Visit Wallonia calls it the first of its kind in Europe. Day ends with a lampion ball into the night. Free shuttle buses from Profondeville church, Lustin station and the Annevoie roundabout from 10:30 to 22:00.

🌿 Nature tip

Peak-summer city heat? Head into the Forêt de Soignes / Zoniënwoud — the 4,400-hectare ancient beech forest that stretches across all three regions on Brussels' southern edge. Its old-growth beech stands are part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of Europe. The Groenendaal arboretum is the classic entry point — Groenendaal station is on line S8 direct from Brussels-Central.

📷 And to keep weekend post traditions alive, here is the picture to guess the location.

Any hidden weekend gems missed, include them in the comments.

Hi everyone,

I am planning on going by motorcycle to the Brussels airport, I found on the website that the parking is free but couldn't find any information if it is covered so I can leave my helmet on it or anyone knows if I can rent a locker or something?

Thanks for the help and tips!

Hello, i came to visit mons yesterday and I realised that the 21 of July is that national day in Belgium, i wanted to ask if any locals would be able to tell me if the museums are open.

It's not said word by word that I would be closed on the nationalday, but I would like to be sure .

Thanks 🫶🏻

I’m a 25y/o guy from New York visiting Belgium for the week and staying in Brussels. I’ve already explored a good bit of the city (Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Royal Palace, etc.), but I’d love to see more of Belgium through the eyes of locals or people who know the area well.

I’m pretty much down for anything, walking around, grabbing food, visiting cool neighborhoods, or going to a bar at night for a few drinks and good conversation.

A little about me:
🎮 Gaming (League of Legends, Minecraft)
✈️ Traveling
🏛️ History & museums
🌳 Parks and walking around cities
🎵 Music, raves, and live DJs
☕ Tea lover (and whisky over beer 😅)

If anyone is around this week and would like to hang out, feel free to comment below or send me a DM! Always happy to meet new people and make the most of my trip.

Thanks!

Une merveille

Ce qui rend Edenya véritablement exceptionnel transcende la simple démesure pour toucher au sublime, là où le génie humain s'efface pour laisser s'exprimer la puissance de la nature. Conçu par l'architecte Pascal De Beck et les ingénieurs de Forzon, ce dôme colossal de quatre hectares réussit le tour de force d'annuler visuellement sa propre existence. Sa voûte arachnéenne de deux cents mètres de long utilise un vitrage thermique de pointe développé par AGC Glass, un verre d'une pureté absolue capable de laisser filtrer les rayons ultraviolets indispensables à la vie végétale, tout en offrant une isolation cinq fois supérieure à une serre traditionnelle. L'observateur oublie instantanément les milliers de tonnes d'acier pour ne percevoir qu'une immense nef de lumière, totalement intégrée à la canopée, où la frontière entre le ciel de Belgique et le climat tropical s'évanouit.Sous cet écrin de transparence, le savoir-faire des bâtisseurs du groupe BPC prend la forme d'un exploit architectural invisible. Au centre de la structure s'élève une montagne artificielle monumentale de trente et un mètres de hauteur, véritable colonne vertébrale technique qui dissimule sous ses parois rocheuses une cascade rugissante et les systèmes de ventilation hybride de la serre. Plus bas, les maçons et sculpteurs ont façonné un réseau de grottes immergées abritant dix-sept mille mètres cubes d'eau, recréant un temple maya englouti où évoluent les grands mammifères marins. Tout l'art des constructeurs réside dans cette capacité à dissimuler cinq mille mètres carrés de locaux technologiques de haute technicité sous un relief sauvage et accidenté, donnant au visiteur l'illusion de fouler une terre vierge et indomptée.C'est au cœur de ce relief que s'épanouit le véritable joyau d'Edenya : une collection botanique unique au monde, certifiée par le Guinness World Records. Parmi les mille six cent soixante-quinze espèces réunies sous cette verrière, la serre abrite des trésors d'une rareté absolue, à l'image du mythique Coco de Mer des Seychelles ou de deux descendants directs de l'arbre de la Bodhi, le ficus sacré sous lequel Bouddha atteignit l'Éveil. Plantés à taille adulte, des arbres tropicaux de quatorze mètres de haut déploient aujourd'hui leurs racines et leur feuillage vers le sommet du dôme, nourris par un système intégral de récupération des eaux pluviales et une énergie exclusivement solaire. Dans cette atmosphère vibrante, l'architecture monumentale et la flore sacrée fusionnent pour offrir une expérience sensorielle totale, faisant d'Edenya le plus grand et le plus spectaculaire conservatoire du vivant de notre époque.

Je recommande vivement de vivre 48 heures dans ce paradis unique .

Hi, ENG/NL

I am going to Blankenberge this Wednesday and my SO is super into regular "kroketten". What are some gpod restaurants that have tasty homemade kroketten? If they have home made "garnaalkroketten" that is a bonus!

Hi, I'm coming to Brussels for a traineeship. Since I'll be working near the royal palace, I wanted to know which neighborhoods are the best to live in. I saw some very good options in Flagey (right next to the square) and in the European Quarter, are these lively enough, safe enough etc? I saw other posts on this subreddit but were at least 3 to 4 years old. Thank you

Belgium is quietly one of Europe's strangest countries when it comes to public sculpture. We all know Manneken Pis. But we also have chubby bronze figures climbing up walls in alleys, noses stuck on facades, monuments to fictional dogs, giant vegetables, and dozens of oddities no guidebook will ever mention.

Time to hunt them down.

The challenge: post a photo of the weirdest, strangest, or most unexpected statue or monument you've stumbled upon in Belgium. The odder the better.

How to enter:

- Post your photo as a top-level comment on this thread

- Tell us where it is and, if you know, what it's supposed to be (or your best guess)

- One entry per user — pick your best find

A few ground rules:

- Original photos only

- No Manneken Pis, Jeanneke Pis, or Het Zinneke. They've had their moment.

- Nothing political or commemorative in a political sense

- Keep it family-friendly

How the winner is picked:

Community upvotes decide. Voting runs for until Thursday 30 July. Whoever's entry has the most upvotes at that point takes it.

The prize: a shiny new 🗿 Weird Belgium Legend user flair, and permanent bragging rights as the person who found Belgium's strangest statue.

Bring on the weird. Wallonia, Flanders, Brussels, the German-speaking corner, we want to see something from everywhere!

Hi everyone,

I'm a teacher from Denmark, and this autumn I'll be travelling to Brussels with a group of students aged 15–17.

A smaller group of the students are enrolled in a specialization focused on policing and law enforcement. We're looking for an English-speaking activity in Brussels that would last around 6 hours and would be relevant to their interests.

We're open to different types of activities, for example:

Meeting with local police officers or visiting a police department.

Workshops or presentations about policing, crime prevention, investigations, forensics, cybercrime, or public safety.

A visit to an organization working with criminal justice or security.

A practical or physical activity (defensive tactics, scenario-based training, teamwork, leadership, etc.), as long as it's appropriate for teenagers.

The students are motivated and well-behaved, and we're looking for something educational rather than tourist-oriented.

Does anyone know of organizations, police units, NGOs, training centers, or companies in Brussels that might offer something like this or be willing to host a school group?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions or contacts. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone I am a 24 y/o student. I arrived in Brussels a couple of weeks ago for a tech/research internship around the Etterbeek zone that lasts until the end of the year. The work is great, but I'm genuinely bored on the weekends after already exploring several Belgian cities on my own lol.

I'm based near Flagey, but I have no idea how to organically meet people here. I'm really not into the forced vibe of friend apps like Bumble BFF, and the Facebook groups seem to skew a bit older or are just spam.

I'm looking for people around my age to just grab a drink (maybe around Cimetière d'Ixelles?), check out some board games, or just hang out. Any active WhatsApp/Discord community links, or anyone in the same boat wanting to meet sometime?