From this weekend, the first two guinguette summer bars – which have existed since 2017 – in parks across the Brussels-Capital Region will open to the public for the summer season.
While it seems the public will have to wait a little longer for warmer weather, they can nevertheless start enjoying summer early in Brussels' popular guinguettes, Brussels Environment announced earlier this week.
"We are all looking forward to it, Brussels residents and regular visitors alike. Our summer kiosks symbolise summer, good cocktails and food sharing in an enchanting setting," the agency said.
The Fabiola guinguette in Parc Roi Baudouin (Jette) and André in Parc de Laeken will be the first to open on Saturday 20 April. The five others will follow later this month and in early May.
What's in a name
Bars Henri in Parc Georges Henri (Woluwe-Saint-Lambert) and Vincent in Parc du Bon Pasteur (Evere) will follow suit next week on Thursday 25 April. For Maurice in Parc du Cinquantenaire (EU Quarter) and the Vélo-guinguette Giselle in Abbaye de la Cambre (Ixelles), people will have to wait until 5 and 17 May, respectively.
Guinguette Émile in Parc Duden (Forest) is also due to open this spring, but its permit is still pending.
The names given to the guinguettes have a close link with the park in which they are located: Fabiola in Parc Roi Baudouin refers to the former Queen; André in Parc de Laeken refers to engineer André Waterkeyn and architect André Polak, who designed and built the Atomium.
All guinguettes are open seven days a week from 11:00 to 22:00 all summer long. Giselle and Maurice will close on 15 September and 25 September, the other will remain open until 6 October.
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The operator of the summer bars, Barc, works with local and organic products as much as possible and aims to produce as little waste as possible by favouring reusable materials and recycling practices, Brussels Environment said.
In addition to having a bite to eat and a drink in one of Brussels' parks, customers can also visit the summer bars for all kinds of activities, such as yoga, mini-concerts and repair cafés. "The bars welcome local initiatives to offer varied activities for young and old. The aim is to strengthen social ties and just have fun together."
More information on the different guinguettes and activities can be found on the website.
