Brussels’ Winter Wonders festivities to run until 7 January

The city of Brussels has extended much its end-of-year festive programme until the end of the school holidays, it has announced.

Winter Wonders activities in the Grand Place, Place De Brouckère and Place de la Monnaie will now continue until 7 January. They include ice skating, curling and the après-ski village.

“It seemed important to us that families who stay in Brussels during the Christmas holidays can continue to enjoy the magic of the holidays and Winter Wonders,” said Brussels mayor Philippe Close.

“We are therefore delighted to be able to extend the activities in the city centre by a week so that young and old, Brussels residents and visitors can start the new year in a good mood,” he added.

Among the highlights of the extended programme is a ‘Disco on Ice’ evening in Place De Brouckère on 6 January. Instead of the usual soundtrack of Christmas tunes, a live DJ who will be spinning the discs "with the same sound level", pointed out Brussels Major Events.

But shutting up shop for another year on 31 December are the chalets and rides on Place Sainte-Catherine, Vismet and La Bourse, including the big wheel.

In 2022, the Winter Wonders festivities was attended by an estimated 3.5m visitors, including around 1.2m foreign tourists. With the extension of many of the top attractions this year, the city will be hoping to match or top these figures.

Photo: Winter Wonders 2022 ©City of Brussels