With Belgium celebrating its National Day on Friday 21 July, there will be a number of traffic disruptions and changes to public transport schedules in Brussels centre.
City authorities "highly recommend" coming to Brussels by train or metro: services will be reinforced and several lines will run longer in the evening. Car parks on the edge of the city will be available, especially in Kraainem, Heysel, Delta and Roodebeek (metro).
Throughout the day, the areas of Place Poelaert, Rue de la Régence, Rue Royale and Place Royale, Place des Palais, Sablon, the streets around Brussels Park and Hofberg, Place du Trône, the streets around the Cathedral of St Michael and St Goedele, Rue de la Loi and Rue Belliard and the Schuman area will not be accessible to traffic.
Place des Palais (in front of the Brussels Royal Palace) will already be closed to all traffic from 08:00 on Wednesday 19 July until 18:00 on Saturday 22 July.
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Party in the park
In and around Park Royal, there will be a ban on all traffic, including buses and trams, from 05:00 on Friday 21 July until the end of celebrations. Specifically, it concerns Place Poelaert, Rue des Quatre-Bras, Rue de la Régence, Place du Grand Sablon, Place Royale, Coudenberg, Mont des Arts, Rue Ravenstein, Rue Royale (between Rue de la Loi and Place Royale) and Rue Ducale (between Rue de la Loi and Trône).
Due to the (military) parade, that will take place from 16:00 to 18:00, several streets and tunnels will also be closed. From 12:30, the Cinquantenaire and Loi tunnels will be closed, as will the Reyerstunnel E40 in the direction of the city centre. A ban on driving on the Avenue d'Auderghem will also take effect for the entire day.
Around 21:00, free concerts (by Alice on the Roof, Typh Barrow, Salvatore Adamo and Henri PFR) will start in the Cinquantenaire Park until 23:00, followed by fireworks until around 23:30.
Until then, a number of streets around the Park will also remain closed: Avenue de la Joyeuse entrée, Avenue de la Renaissance, Avenue des Nerviens, Avenue de l’Yser, Avenue des Gaulois, Avenue de Tervuren (until Montgomery), the Schuman roundabout and the Rue de la Loi. The tunnels under Cinquantenaire Park will also remain closed in both directions until the end of the fireworks.
Increased public transport
To ensure mobility around the city and enjoy the festivities, Brussels public transport company STIB will adapt and expand its services on National Day.
All four metro lines will run longer: the last passage of lines 1 and 5 at Merode station (in all directions) will be around 01:00. For lines 2 and 6, the last passage at the Arts-Loi station (in all directions) will be around 01:20. Tram lines 3, 4, 7, 9, 19, 25 and 81 and shuttle bus 19 will run later, with their last passage in the stations close to the festivities around 01:00.
However, temporary interruptions and disruptions are also expected on tram lines 92 and 93 between Louise and Botanique. Additionally, 26 bus lines will be interrupted or diverted. More info on the specific lines can be found at mivb.brussels
More information on the festivities can be found on the 2107.be website.
