How to celebrate Halloween in Brussels

With scary movies, spooky brunches and fantastic kids’ events, Brussels is a great place to celebrate Halloween. Even though Halloween isn’t exactly a long-standing Belgian tradition, we’ve embraced this American holiday and throw lots of fun events to keep you up all night. Below is an overview of places where you can celebrate Halloween in Brussels.

1 Have drinks around a coffin at Le Cercueil

Le Cercueil, a bar next to Grand Place, is without a doubt the most creepy one in Brussels. Sitting at the end of a dark alley, this quirky bar is Halloween-inspired all year long. Its most striking feature are the coffins that have been repurposed as tables to sit around. Although most of them are closed with a wooden lid, one is covered with a glass plate, through which you can see the creepy skeleton that’s resting there forever. Also the drinks are Halloween-themed with beer cocktails served in a skull-shaped mug or cocktails with obscene names.

2 Halloween festival in Saint-Gilles

On October 31, all monsters, trolls, golems and witches gather in Saint-Gilles for a scary Halloween night. Lots of family-friendly activities are organized in the Pierre Paulus park and on Place Morichar. Enjoy fantastic light shows, music, story-tellers, juggler performances… At 7PM, the sky will be lit by fantastic fireworks.

A monster parade will then lead you to the Fantastic Art museum where 'Halloween Man' will throw candies around. In the Center of Fantastic Art, just a bit further, you’ll get to enjoy a full Halloween program with spooky entertainment.

More information on the website of the Centre d'Art Fantastique.

3 Go underground and explore the bowels of Brussels

Although not a typical Halloween activity, there is no better period to visit these atypical Brussels museums. In the Sewer Museum you’ll descend into an underground tunnel along the sewage system and the capped Senne river. If you look closely, you might even spot monsters like sea dragons and water serpents.

Also the Coudenberg museum boasts an underground section where the light never shines, and which would make for an excellent hideout for vampires. These are the underground foundations of the former Coudenberg palace. Walk through the tunnels underneath the heart of Brussels and get a great glimpse at Brussels history.

4 Halloween brunch at Hard Rock Café

Hard Rock Café is hosting one of its traditional brunches known as the Lil’ Monstars Breakfast. During this yearly event, both little ones and grown-ups are welcomed in a spooky setting… for a rich Halloween brunch. While you help yourself to an all-you-can-eat buffet, kids can participate in one of the special Halloween activities. They can decorate their own donuts and make their own toppings or ask the make-up artist to transform them into their favorite monster. The family-friendly Halloween brunch takes place on Sunday October 27 and costs 17,95 EUR for adults, and 11,95 EUR for kids.

On October 31, Hard Rock Café is hosting another big event. Put on your creepiest outfit and head over to Hard Rock Café for a big Halloween party with a DJ. The staff is all dressed up for Halloween, which creates a great atmosphere. Make sure to try the special Halloween cocktail, if you dare!

5 Pharmacie Anglaise

Situated close to the Coudenberg museum mentioned above, La Pharmacie Anglaise is a cocktail bar within an old pharmacy that has preserved its 19th century design. The interior is decorated in a quirky way with animals in alcohol flasks, a large stuffed bear at the entrance and a freaky stuffed lion further inside. This steampunk cabinet of curiosities creates a perfect setting for a Halloween apero. The drinks, served by experienced mixologists, are truly exceptional and decorated with the utmost care.

6 Visit the Fantastic Art Museum

Somewhere in between a haunted house and a surrealist art museum, the Fantastic Art Museum is an eccentric place filled with cyborg body parts, vampire cocoons and terminator heads. The place is dedicated to displaying the bizarre through all mediums of art, like paintings, illustrations, sculptures, videos and sound fragments… All the items on display have something in common with the fantastic, the strange or the surrealistic. Crazy for some, strange to the point of scary for others, the Fantastic Art Museum is a great place to visit around Halloween. The exposition is laid out of the three floors of a Patrician house in Saint-Gilles.

7 Halloween Night at the movies

Nothing says Halloween like an evening filled with bloody extravaganzas, bats and spiders, haunted houses, and enough suspenseful moments to keep you on the edge of your seat. Amongst others, those are the key elements of the Halloween program created by Kinepolis Brussels. On October 31, a terrifying movie marathon sporting three different movies brings you in a scary spirit between 8 PM and 3 AM. The scheduled movies for Halloween Night 2021 are Halloween Kills, Last Night in Soho and Antlers. So bring your friends and get ready to scream your head off. You can buy a ticket online for 29,95 EUR.

8 Eat scary chocolates

Around Halloween many chocolatiers create special Halloween-themed pralines in the shape of pumpkins, skeletons... You name it. Check out the original creations of the chocolatiers around you and take some home to eat on Halloween night while watching a scary movie. One of those places is Passion Chocolat in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre or at Sablon.

9 Get a batch of Halloween donuts

Almost all bakeries prepare special Halloween-themed creations. Have a look at what's on display in the windows of your local bakery. Otherwise Brussels also boasts several Dunkin Donuts shops that create special donuts for every occasion.

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