Brussels' 19 municipalities have reached a common agreement on various measures to save energy this winter, hoping to preserve their traditional winter light displays as much as possible. Energy prices have skyrocketed in Europe, but many cities count on their festive lighting displays for tourism...

The Bulletin’s 60-year history divides into two distinct periods – BC and AC: Before Corelio and After Corelio. Its BC heyday spanned the 40 years when it flourished as an independent, printed weekly magazine that was essential reading for Brussels’ international community. Then, as the digital...

I joined The Bulletin in 1989, after living in Amsterdam for 10 years. Brussels seemed a quiet, rather old-fashioned city with ancient trams, smoke-filled bars and horrendous traffic. I didn't dare get on my bike for at least a decade. The Bulletin was based at the time in a rambling Uccle town-...

“Near this spot formerly stood the Pensionnat Heger,” it says on a bronze plaque next to the Palais des Beaux-Arts, “where the writers Charlotte and Emily Brontë studied in 1842-43.” The plaque, put up by the Brontë Society, doesn’t get it quite right, since Emily, who hated Brussels, left in the...

Popular arty party Nuit Blanche now becomes Art + Paper . The nocturnal platform for the capital’s contemporary arts scene has been transformed into a biennial to involve even more community projects. The celebration this year, propelled by a post-pandemic need to reinforce social contact, will see...

As Europe grapples with an energy crisis, several Belgian towns and cities are reexamining the ways in which they conduct their winter festivities. The Winter Wonders festival in Brussels will still take place, but mayor Philippe Close told Bel RTL that the city is looking into some energy-saving...

Pharmacies are not asking their customers enough questions about their health conditions to check that an over-the-counter medicine is safe for them to use, according to a new study from Belgian consumer protection agency Test Achats. Using mystery shoppers, Test Achats visited almost 100...

The proportion of people working from home almost doubled between 2018 and 2022, according to a report by SPF Mobilité. One benefit of home or hybrid working has been a drop in road accidents. There were 3,000 fewer accidents involving death or injury and 35 fewer deaths on the roads in 2021,...

A planned strike by SNCB rail workers in Belgium on 18 October has been moved forward by two weeks and will now happen next Wednesday (5 October). Three trade unions representing SNCB staff have decided to strike earlier than first planned to "put pressure on the government", the unions said in a...

The City of Brussels is looking to extend a ban on the consumption of alcohol in much of the city centre until October 2023, according to a proposal that will be discussed next week. The ban was put into place in early 2020 after complaints from residents and shopkeepers about alcohol-related...