Best of Brussels in August

Summertime and the living is easy – that’s August in Brussels in a line. Everything feels uncomplicated: more space, a slower pace, and somehow still a full calendar of fun events. If you’re staying, this is what’s worth your time in the coming days.

The magical Flower Carpet is back from 13 to 16 August! Every two years, 100+ volunteers lay 500,000 dahlias across the Grand-Place to create one of the world’s most extraordinary ephemeral artworks. This year’s edition recreates Hokusai’s The Great Wave of Kanagawa across 1,300 square metres, marking 160 years of Belgian-Japanese friendship. For the first time, a second carpet will appear simultaneously at the Bourse, themed around Belgium’s brewing heritage.

Pro tips: Book a Town Hall balcony visit for the aerial view. Also, you can catch the sound and light show on the Grand Place: from 13 to 16 August, from 9 pm to 11 pm (every half hour).

Another highlight of the month, Brussels Dance Festival is back from 14 to 23 August. For ten days, the city will come alive with dance, music and shared experiences through a vibrant programme taking place in some of the capital’s most iconic locations. Expect  free performances, captivating shows, high-energy battles, inspiring workshops, DJ sets, film screenings and interactive experiences around the city centre, celebrating dance in all its forms.

From our website: August edition of Brussels Retail Edit explores the growth of bio stores and organic supermarkets in Brussels. For summer inspirations, we recommend our popular piece with best artisan ice cream spots in Brussels.

Ideas for the coming weeks:

Festival Classissimo is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the Théâtre du Parc. This is a true summer meeting point for lovers of classical music. The anniversary edition offers 7 evenings of discovery, encounters and musical journeys through the centuries and across genres. 
Pro tip: The event is 100% free for students (upon presentation of a student card at the entrance). It is also an opportunity to discover rare instruments (such as the glass harmonica or the cymbalum) and great masterpieces in a prestigious and intimate setting.

Open dance workshops: As part of the Brussels Dance Festival, (re)discover your dancing skills on 13 & 14 August, during free classes in one of the rehearsal studios at La Monnaie. Hit the floor in a supportive environment, with the music of Beyoncé, Prince, Lily Allen, and Hamsa El Din.

The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie invites you to Bal Moderne at Place de la Monnaie on 23 August. Let yourself be swept away by some of the catchiest pop songs, try out new dance moves, and have fun with hundreds of fellow dance lovers and enthusiastic beginners. Free dance workshops, everyone welcome!

Pavi’On Summer: For those seeking a setting of nature and conviviality, the Pavi’On, located in the heart of the Cinquantenaire Park, is the ideal destination. Children and families can take part in the fun and educational activities of the “Family After’Noons” organized on Wednesdays throughout August. On weekends, the “Happy’Noons” are aimed at an intergenerational audience featuring dance, crafts, and gentle movement. All activities are free.

Bozar Monumental: All summer in the Horta Hall at Bozar. The second edition of Bozar’s summer monumental installation brings an immersive, sensory-rich work by Colombian artist Delcy Morelos, made from natural materials. Free access.

Expo What’s Your Style? at MAD Brussels celebrates the work of 11 Belgian stylists, from internationally established names to emerging talents. This expo takes us behind the scenes of the fashion world, shining a spotlight on an often unseen but essential creative force: the stylist.

Tutankhamun – The Immersive Exhibition at Brussels Expo. The award-winning, globe-trotting spectacle that has drawn over 2.5 million visitors worldwide, invites you to step inside the world of ancient Egypt and its mythical pharaoh.

Into partying? Maatwerk organises another edition of Vaux-Hall Open Air in the Royal Park on 22 August. A few days later, Fiesta Latina, the biggest Latino festival in Belgium, takes over Cinquantenaire Park for its Summer Edition on 28, 29 & 30 August. Check our August Music Agenda with full list of festivals, concerts and open-air parties in Brussels and around Belgium.

Final reminder: The Royal Palace in Brussels has reopened after two years of renovations. Get your tickets (open daily until 16 August, except on Mondays.

City Vibe: What caught our eye this month

Foire du Midi (also known as the Kermesse of Brussels) is back in town until 23 August with hundreds of attractions along the boulevard near Midi station. Did you know? Held since 1880, this annual event is part of a fairground tradition inscribed on Unesco’s World Heritage list since 2024, with expected one million visitors this year.

New in town: Goodbye Peyrassol au Châtelain, hello Le Guépard. The long-awaited new venue has officially taken over one of the most iconic corner locations in this neighbourhood. Le Guépard brings fresh energy alongside its prime position in the heart of Châtelain. This is the latest addition to the portfolio of the team behind several well-known Brussels establishments, such as Café Circus, Cheval Marin and Café des Minimes.

Japanese vibes at Hotel Amigo: After admiring the spectacular Flower Carpet on the Grand Place, extend the experience at Bar Magritte with a limited-edition menu and signature cocktails inspired by Japanese flavours.

EU Quarter tips:

Have you been to the Parlamentarium? Visitors’ centre of the European Parliament is a perfect spot to start your exploration of the EU quarter in Brussels. It is Europe’s largest parliamentary visitors centre, visited by more than 4 million people.

Learn about the daily work of the European Parliament and discover how decisions influence the lives of citizens across Europe. Open seven days a week, free entrance. Pro tip: Enjoy walking around the nearby Leopold Park and visit the House of European History.

See also: Temporary expo: Postcolonial? at House of European History, which features unique artworks, historical objects and personal stories, leading the visitors throughout the much-needed European reckoning with colonialism. Entrance is free.

Plan ahead: Getting ready for September

Opera Open Doors at La Monnaie on 5 September: Discover one of the capital’s most beautiful hidden gems during a full day of free concerts, tours and events.

Beethoven 7 at La Monnaie, an exhilarating dance production by Sasha Waltz. Germany’s most prominent choreographer since Pina Bausch, took the entire score as the starting point for a new performance by 14 dancers.

Cirque du Soleil’s OVO is coming to Brussels with a completely reinvented show. Mark your calendars: From 30 September to 4 October at ING Arena.

Around Belgium: News you might have missed

• Over one million visitors expected to attend Brussels’ Foire du Midi this summer.
• Brussels could double car-free Sundays from 2027.
• Brussels Charleroi Airport to close for months in 2028 for major runway reconstruction.
• Green light to Anderlecht rooftop swimming pool.
• Eurostar to launch new direct London to Antwerp service from December 2026.

Also happening:

• Bruxellons! Until 20 September at Château du Karreveld, Molenbeek. Open-air summer theatre under the stars in a castle courtyard: Kinky Boots (the flagship musical, flamboyant and human), John & Jen (intimate musical storytelling), and Jack Cooper’s mentalism show Tout est écrit.
• Midis-Minimes Festival, until 28 August. Every weekday at 12:15, a 35-minute classical concerts in three magnificent settings: the Notre-Dame des Victoires church at the Sablon, the Cercle Royal Gaulois, and Hall M at Bozar. Free, unhurried, and consistently excellent summer ritual.
• Ars in Cathedrali. Every Tuesday evening at 20h, free organ concerts inside the Cathedral of St. Michael & St. Gudula in Brussels.
• Horta Museum presents the exhibition Art Nouveau versus Art Deco? 1850–1950: A Century in 31 Seats. Featuring thirty chairs by leading designers, from Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde to Le Corbusier and Marcel Breuer, the expo offers insight into a century of transformation in design and architecture in the Western world. Until 2027
• Le Botanique presents Side by Side, a group exhibition bringing together the ten laureates who have been awarded prizes by La Centrale over the past four years. Until 16 August.
• Jeppe Hein: Reflections on Breathing at Vanhaerents Art Collection. The Danish artist’s first major Brussels exhibition brings together three iconic works: Breathe With Me, Modified Social Benches and Rotating Mirrors – an immersive encounter with mindfulness, connection and collective presence. The Vanhaerents warehouse in the city centre is one of Brussels’ finest private collection spaces. Until 31 Dec.
• The Fashion and Lace Museum brings Simplicities, a fascinating exhibition that explores how fashion, long before contemporary minimalism, already sought purity of lines, freedom of the body and a certain idea of ​​simplicity.
• Territoires intérieurs at Musée & Jardins van Buuren, until 27 September. A poetic dialogue between two major figures of 20th-century Belgian art, Gustave van de Woestyne and Anto Carte – both sharing a deeply interiorised vision of the human condition, spirituality and the rural world.
• Expo: Designing Childhood – a history of design for children, at the Design Museum Brussels until 20 September.
• Val Saint-Lambert & Design at Design Museum Brussels. The rich creative history of Belgium’s legendary crystal glassworks, with particular focus on the dialogue between craft and design from Expo 58 through the early 2000s.

We hope you enjoyed another edition of our monthly agenda. We pull together the most interesting local events, mixed with inspiring stories & tips so you can make the most of Brussels.