Many employees are off work on 1 November, one of several bank holidays throughout the month in Belgium. For those of you just setting out, here's what's open today.
As always, this guide is based on publicly available information, so always best to check with your local store/shop ahead of time.
Public Services
Communes, Administrative Centres and liaison offices will be closed for the day, with some taking the day after too.
Post offices and the majority of banks will remain closed throughout Monday, with some banks running their regular Saturday hours.
Mail: There will be no delivery of letters, packages or newspapers.
Public Transport
The itinerary of several bus lines will be changed on November 1 in order to facilitate access to the various cemeteries in the Brussels Region and the outskirts on the occasion of All Saints' Day. These changes will apply during the opening hours of the cemeteries.
Concretely, lines 37 and 43 will be diverted from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM in order to provide access to the Uccle cemetery. Lines 59 and 63 will be diverted between 7:00 AM and 4:30 PM in order to provide a service to the Brussels cemetery and line 75 will be extended to Anderlecht cemetery from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
Finally, for people wishing to go to the Woluwe-Saint-Lambert cemetery, a shuttle 73 will be put into service between the Crainhem metro station and the Long-Chêne stop. This shuttle will run every 30 minutes between 9:30 AM and 4:10 PM.
Additional information is available on the Stib website.
Stores
Albert heijn, Lidl, Makro and Colruyt will be closed closed.
Match, Delhaize & Carrefour: some will be open – check the links provided to search for the store you want to go to. While there is a better chance they stay open, Proxy Delhaize and Carrefour Market and Express can open and close depending on individual stores, in line with local regulations.
Local stores can choose to stay open or not.
Ikea is closed.
Shopping centres
Wijnegem in Antwerp is closed.
City 2 is closed.
Maasmechelen Village is open.
Hospitality & bars
Many bars and restaurants will be open but this will vary on an individual basis.
Entertainment
Major cinema chains will be open.
Planckendael, Antwerp Zoo and Pairi Daiza will be open.
Amusement park Walibi is open and will be running a Halloween event.
