Along with all the good feelings that accompany fine weather, it isn't long before your body is crying out for refreshment. This isn't normally a problem in Brussels, the city is pretty well covered for spots to fill up on beverages of all variations. But if you're after something a bit more cooling you're in for disappointment.
Though the provision of indoor swimming pools is handled well by municipalities, the public is out of luck if they're hoping for a dip in the clement elements. One organisation campaigning to change this even created an outdoor pool to highlight the need for local residents – especially those who might not have the means to travel to more exotic stations balnéaires.
But in a cruel twist of irony, the "Flow" site created beside the highly polluted canal in Anderlecht was this year closed just two days after opening due to excessive bacterial levels. The city's only outdoor bathing spot also wasn't ready until July, whilst Belgium's only official heatwave this year occurred in June.
Even open again, this single location is hardly sufficient for a city that seeks to attract visitors in summer months and keep local industry alive. Though there are plenty of comparable cities that have little aside from public fountains to bring respite when words like sweltering are dripping from everyone's lips, this should surely be a priority as city planners rethink public spaces.
Though some cities are fortunate with their abundance of natural watercourses (Stockholm for example is a swimmer's paradise), others have long understood the value of public bathing amenities. London's lidos and ponds may often be crowded but still beat Brussels, simply by virtue of existing in the first place.
With heatwaves sweeping more frequently across northern Europe, the city is aware of the need to act and has announced an open-air pool by 2026. But will one be enough? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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1. Brussels open-air swimming pool FLOW re-opens on Thursday
Brussels' only open-air swimming pool, which closed two days after it opened as water quality had fallen below acceptable levels, is once again welcoming swimmers from Thursday after being closed for almost two weeks. Read more.
2. Northern Quarter: Brussels approves plans to reverse Manhattanisation of the area
Manhattanisation, often referred to as Brusselisation, turned the area in the late 1970s into a concrete jungle – which the city now wants to change. Read more.
3. Belgium has fifth 'most powerful passport' in the world
The Belgian passport does slightly better than last year as it placed fifth in the ranking of the most powerful passports in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index, which annually scrutinises the passports of 199 different countries. Read more.
4. Property prices in Brussels dropped in first half of 2023
Despite the drop, Brussels is still by far the most expensive place in Belgium to buy property. Read more.
5. Belgium third most expensive European country for rail travel
The majority of popular European routes are cheaper to travel by aeroplane than by train, recent analysis by Greenpeace has revealed. Travelling to foreign destinations by train from Belgium is particularly expensive. Read more.
6. Voodoo, plant medicine and jinn: A closer look at Brussels’ spiritual healers
They promise power, love, money and more for those willing to pay for spirit cleansers. David Labi searches for the elusive mystics of Brussels. Read more.
7. Hidden Belgium: Forgotten artists’ studios in Saint-Gilles
The Brussels commune of Saint-Gilles has always been an artistic neighbourhood. Read more.
