Culture beat: 3 April

One solution for the school holidays and cold spring weather is an underground treasure hunt at Coudenberg Palace from 4 to 19 April. The fascinating ruins in Place des Palais are part of the former palace of Charles V and date from medieval times. Children aged five to eight, accompanied by an adult, can search for the treasure of the Golden Fleece (Toison d’Or). Each child receives a back pack with all the tools they need to carry out mission: treasure map, disguise, puzzle, torch… Each quest contains clues for passwords to access the safe containing the famous collar of the golden fleece. Children receive a small gift at end of game. Online reservation necessary here

Alternatively there’s Golf Terror at the Fantastic Museum in Saint-Gilles. The mini-golf tour for all the family has 12 holes with scary scenography, including a cemetery, haunted castle, river of blood and withes haunt.

Slightly older thrill seekers should head to the annual Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Bifff, at Bozar from 7 to 9 April. Featuring more than 150 films from sci-fi, fantasy and horror genres, it is one of the best festivals of its kind in the world. Extra activities include body painting, a Vampire Ball and a Zombie Parade.

Every first Sunday of the month, museums open their doors to the public free of charge. On Easter Sunday it’s the turn of the city’s Toy Museum, near Botanique. La Musée du Jouet is open from 14.00-18.00. More than 140 cultural institutions in the country participate in the event. Details from Arts et Publics.

Wrap up warm if you’re Easter egg hunting this weekend. The Bulletin’s article on spring activities has suggestions for young chocoholics.

Outside Brussels

The customary chill in the air can only mean one thing – spring is in the air. One of the most popular flower shows is Floralia Brussels which opens today (Friday) for its annual display of seasonal blooms. Until 3 May, the grounds and greenhouses of the red-brick castle of Groot-Bijgaarden, situated close to the ring north of the city, are filled with more than a thousand tulips. The show also boasts a calendar of events, from flower arranging, to concerts and a Venetian parade on 18 April (pictured).

It’s Discovery weekend in Mons on 4 and 5 April with a slew of new museums opening for Mons 2015 Capital of Culture umbrella (pictured). It includes a special rally for all the family, leaving from the Grand-Place on Sunday at 10.00. The openings are all part of a metamorphosis of the Hainaut capital, which include many innovative renovations of period building. They include the Mons Memorial Museum, dedicated to World War One and remembrance. The refurbished 1870 pumphouse in Boulevard Dolez is a stunning backdrop of brick, steel and glass. Other places to visit this weekend, are Le Manège de Sury and Le Mundaneum. The latter is a tribute to the world’s first networked library conceived by Belgians Paul Otlet and Henri la Fontaine. It is a hybrid space at the intersection of history, culture, technology and civic participation. Outside Mons, the new Silex centre enables visitors to descend the Unesco-recognised Neolithic flint mines of Spiennes. Lying 6km southwest of Mons, they are one of the oldest and largest archaeological sites in Europe.