Brussels is now fully in the summer mood, and the many events taking place in the city reflect this mood. What better way to celebrate the end of a sunny working week than to spend your weekend outdoors exploring the Belgian capital? Find our favourite events over the coming days below.
Music and culture
Walden Festival, Parc Léopold, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July
Walden Festival brands itself as 'a (not so) classical music festival', and encourages people of all ages to discover and enjoy music in all its diversity on various stages in and around Brussels' Parc Léopold, the green heart of the European Quarter.
The main stage of the festival in Parc Léopold. Credit: Walden Festival
From picturesque concerts by better-known artists in the Museum of Natural Sciences' garden to intimate classical music, jazz and global music performances in some of the area's architectural gems, this festival is truly like no other.
Find more information here.
Festival Bruxellons! - West Side Story, Château du Karreveld, until 26 August
Every summer for the past 25 years, this unique festival stages 15 shows created at the Festival or produced by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation at the magical Château du Karreveld in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.
Credit: Bruxellois! / Visit.brussels
Major musicals have been put on every summer for the last decade, ranging from The Sound of Music to My Fair Lady. One of the greatest musical classics has been chosen for this year's special anniversary: West Side Story, a timeless love story set in a world of racism and violence.
Find more information here.
Alternative arts
PleinOPENair, until Saturday 15 July
After a five-year hiatus, PleinOPENair has finally returned to Brussels this summer. The thought-provoking event challenges its visitors to consider urban issues and look at them from a new angle. This weekend, the focus will be on the forgotten site along the railway tracks at Brussels-West Station.
A previous edition of PleinOPENair. Credit: Flickr
With a fully free agenda of film screenings, concerts, educative walks and workshops, it will tackle subjects such as affordable housing, gentrification, as well as the increasing tension between the need for biodiversity and the continued emergence of new building projects.
Find more information here.
'Lire dans les parcs', various locations, until 25 August
During the summer months in Brussels, books are brought to the great outdoors across the region's 19 municipalities, giving old, stuffy libraries a new name.
Credit: 'Lire dans les parcs'
Throughout the summer holidays, free readings of a variety of books will take place in some of Brussels' green spaces. Activity leaders will be on hand to help youngsters aged 3 to 10 discover the pleasure of reading while enjoying time outside in local parks.
Find more information here.
Out and about
Park Poétik, Forest, until 26 August
Park Poétik gives public space back to the people, connecting citizens and turning Brussels into a city of surprises in the Saint-Gilles and Forest municipalities.
Credit: Park Poétik
The series of outdoor events in the south of the city invites people to engage with others through a multitude of poetic interventions, as well as through dance, puppet performances and much more.
Find more information here.
'Plaisirs d'Été', city centre, until 6 August
Brussels' summer counterpart to the iconic 'Plaisirs d'Hiver' Christmas market will launch this weekend in the city centre, transforming it into a green and buzzing 'urban garden'.
Illustration image of city centre during 'Plaisirs d'Été' festival. Credit: Brussels Major Events
Play football, pickleball or minigolf on Place de Brouckère, or grab a drink and listen to a free concert or stand-up comedy show. Discover an immersive experience that brings peace and calm to the hectic metropole on Place Fontainas.
