People passing through the Louise shopping district of Brussels or near the Royal Palace may have spotted a merry sight on the tram tracks. Brussels' Christmas tram has come to town to spread holiday cheer.
Brussels' public transport operator STIB has in the past celebrated the end-of-year period with festive gifts such as candy canes and gift wrapping. But this year, it is unwrapping something much bigger: a Christmas-themed tram.
Credit: STIB
The tram, decorated inside and out with Christmas colours and LED lights, will run on Line 92 from 13 December to 5 January, travelling along Rue Royale and Avenue Louise.
Meeting Santa and Christmas carolling
"Passengers can meet Santa and have their photo taken with him on board the tram," STIB's spokesperson An Van hamme noted. Father Christmas will grace the STIB Christmas tram with his presence on Wednesday 20 December from 12:30 to 15:30.
Santa's elves will also board the Christmas tram each Wednesday for the rest of the month (13, 20 and 27 December) to hand out candy canes to passengers.
The tram is not only a feast for the eyes but also music to passengers' ears. The Saint-Marie, Botanique, Royal, Louise, Janson and Vanderkindere stops will be announced with Christmas carols sung by AkoeSTIB: the choir composed of STIB employees.
Credit: STIB
The fun doesn't end in the Christmas tram: there are also other Christmas-themed activities taking place across the STIB network.
People can also have their photo taken with Santa on Saturday 23 December from 10:00 to 14:00 at Rogier station. Passengers can also have their gifts wrapped at STIB stations on 23 and 30 December from 11:00 to 15:00, either with a transport network map or with the numbers of the STIB lines.
AkoeSTIB will bring renditions of traditional Christmas songs to De Brouckère station (from 11:00 to 15:00 on Saturday 16 December) and Rogier (from 12:30 to 13:30 on Tuesday 19 December).
