Once you’ve booked your flight to Brussels and made a reservation in a swanky hotel, spending money for that Belgian city break might be running a little dry. Fortunately, the Capital of Europe has something for everyone … and a lot of great things that won’t cost you a thing! Here’s our rundown of the top 9 best free things to do in Brussels.
Go on a free Art Nouveau walking tour
A stunning Art-Nouveau window in Brussels by architect Paul Saintenoy. © GeS
Every Saturday at 10am, Bravo Discovery offers a Art Nouveau and Victor Horta free walking tour of Brussels. Meet your guide at Grand Place and visit several of the city’s most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings while learning about the style and one of its most famous architects, Victor Horta.
Not so much of an art aficionado? Bravo Discovery also organise twice daily free walking tours of Brussels. Just show up at 10:30am/2:00pm outside the Grand Place with your most comfy shoes and get ready to explore.
Attend one of the many free events
Comic fun at the Balloon’s Day Parade. © miguel.discart
From royal processions to beer festivals and rowdy summer carnivals, it’s fair to say that the odd Belgian likes a celebration, or two. Summer is the main festive season, of course, but you can attend free events in Brussels all year long.
In June, head for Beursschouwburg, the hippest arts centre in all of Brussels, for a month’s worth of free film screenings and live music held on the venue’s fantastic roof terrace. Or join in with the Do-It-Yourself festival, when thousands of friendly locals gather together in June for workshops, street art, craft markets and performance. Then, for the comic enthusiasts, see the famous Belgian characters come to life with the Balloons’ Day Parade in September.
The biggest free event of all, however, is the festival for the National Holiday held on July 21st, featuring a military parade, free entrance to the Royal Palace, folkloric games and local performers taking to the streets.
Go vintage at the Sint-Gorikshallen
Go window shopping in one of Brussels’ many vintage markets.
Every first Sunday of the month, vintage lovers flock to the free vintage market at the Sint-Gorikshallen on the hunt for a bargain or new trendy item. There’s always a large variety of items on sale, from clothes, to jewellery, furniture and curious bric-a-brac.
All that might cost you a euro or two, but the experience of immersing yourself around Brussels’ trendiest young designers, image-conscious bohemians and the zest found with the city’s younger generation is priceless.
The vintage market is open from 12-7pm. Get there just before closing time and you’ll probably have vendors throwing vintage wares your way for ludicrously low prices.
Follow the trail of the old city walls
Take the great walk along the old city walls, one of many must-see Brussels. © Kwong Yee Cheng
Few people know this, but you can follow the remnants old city walls all around Brussels in a good day’s walking, or the most interesting part – from the area of Grand Sablon to Place Sainte-Catherine – in only a few hours.
Some parts of the 13th-century wall are still clearly visible, while others are hidden behind newer buildings and little alleys. In places where the wall has been removed, a glass line on the ground marks where it used to be. Follow it and walk through the history of the entire city, for free!
Find the comic murals spread throughout the city
Free museum? Then look up for the Comic Book Route, one of the best things to see in Brussels.
Belgium is big on comic books. Brussels doesn’t have one, but two museums dedicated to comics: the Belgian Comic Strip Center and the Museum of Original Figurines. Unfortunately, they’re not free to visit. But don’t despair! You can find the country’s rich comic history spread across the centre of Brussels and beyond with the many giant street and wall-side murals.
In 1993, the city planners and the Belgian Comic Strip Center initiated the Brussels’ Comic Book Route, commissioning artist to paint scenes featuring famous comic figures like Tintin, Nero and Asterix on walls all over town. There are over 40 to be found around town, with new additions always in the works.
Visit the Abbey of La Cambre
Go for a scenic walk in the Bois de Cambre public park in Brussels, Belgium. © isamiga76
The Bois de la Cambre is part of the much larger Sonian Forest, a large green lung stretching right into the capital. It’s a place of escape away from the busy city for citizens and visitors alike.
What few people know is that there’s also an abbey at Bois de la Cambre. It currently houses the National Geographic Institute and the National College of Visual Arts, but the church and the beautiful landscaped gardens are freely accessible to the public and simply a quaint, must-visit Brussels attraction.
Attend a concert
Live band OPMOC performing at the free music festival, the Brussels Jazz Marathon.© didy b
Brussels is just as alive at night as it is during the day, with plenty of cultural venues and performance halls, dance bars and pubs.
If you’re looking for live music, but a bit low on cash, you’ve come the right city. Tuneful Brussels is flush with great live music venues and street spots.
Every Monday from 12.45-1.30pm the Church of Notre-Dame du Finistère hosts a free organ concert, or cool hepcats can wander over to The Jazz Station, offering artists the space to rehearse in front of public audiences, all for the price of a song.
Travelling with your trombone? The great traditional Belgian pub Café Kafka opens its doors every Thursday night for a live jam session, and everyone is invited.
Hang out with a local
A typical summer scene in Brussels on Plattesteen, an old street in the city centre.
Meet the Greeters is a collective of Brussels locals who love their hometown and want to share it with you. They’re not official guides, but volunteers who’ll show you around and take you to places they love and think you should know about – and often places too cool to find in a regular guidebook.
What’s fun is that each Greeter will take you to different places depending on how they see the city. Simply contact them, set a date, a time and enjoy!
Go window shopping
Shoppers mill around the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert in Brussels, Belgium. © chris-junker
The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert are located right by the Grand Place and worth a visit even if you don’t feel like shopping, although it might be hard to ignore the chocolates offered by Pierre Marcolini.
This 19th-century arcade is probably the most beautiful in the capital. A complex of three different galleries: the King’s Gallery, the Queen’s Gallery and the Prince’s Gallery, all dressed in an Italianate Cinquecento style, with an arched glass-paned roof and lovely cast-iron at every turn. It’s one of the finest architectural spots of the city, fit for a King but seeing it won’t cost you a thing.
Fun fact: in 1896, the world’s first filmmakers, the Lumière brothers, came to the arcade to screen a movie for the first ever time in Belgium, and the first place in the world outside of the brothers’ native France.
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