Nuit Blanche on Saturday, Sept.29

… And if you’re looking for something to do on Saturday night, don’t miss the annual Nuit blanche which this year offers a wide selection of concerts, theater, and even massages and food… The complete program can be viewed on the official site.

Brussels museums open Thursday evenings

The Nocturnes des Musees de Bruxelles start tomorrow evening, September 27. To launch this year’s Nocturnes series, like all other years, a number of museums have been selected to be open from 17h00 to 22h00 for free. (During the rest of the Nocturnes season, which runs through December 20 this year, entrance fees will be EUR 2.50 in most cases. In some other ones, entrance will still be free.)

The selected museums, which feature special events for this year’s opening evening are:

• Royal Army Museum (Cinquantenaire Park) – Guided visits of the restoration workshops and other behind-the-scenes sites
• Museum of Costume and Lace – Guided tour by expert / designer Gerald Watelet
• Toy Museum – Special storytelling session
• Museum of the City of Brussels (Maison du Roi – Grand Place) – Guided tour of the museum’s masterpieces

If you want to join the tours, arrive early to book a spot. Otherwise, you can also visit the museum on your own in most cases.

Travel: vaccinations

If you are planning to travel to certain destinations outside Europe, your travel agent might have told you that you need to get vaccinated against certain diseases. But chances are, there was no mention as to where to go…

So, here it is: There are a couple of specialized travel clinics in Brussels. I would recommend going to the one on Rue des Alexiens 13, in the St. Pierre Hospital (CHU Saint-Pierre – Site Cesar de Pape). The clinic is clean and the service is surprisingly quick and efficient (at least if you go with an appointment, which I would recommend. Drop-ins are allowed, but you might have to wait quite long).

At the clinic, you first speak to a doctor to determine which shots you need and immediately after, you get vaccinated (well, after paying, that is) so you can get everything done in a single visit (unless you are getting vaccinated for HepA or B, as several doses are required for those). The number to make an appointment is 02/ 535 33 43.

It is best if you take your vaccination history with you and if you want to do some extra research on what you might need to get vaccinated against, you can check on this site. (It also lists addresses of other vaccination centers).

Keep in mind the protective effect of some vaccines does not start until several weeks after the shot is administered, so plan ahead!

Brussels Airlines evening sale tonight 20/09

Here is the lowdown:

• All European destinations starting at EUR 50 one-way (taxes included). Some (Berlin, Budapest) start at EUR 30.00 one-way
• Booking period is tonight, Thursday 20 September, between 6pm and midnight
• Travel period: between 12 November 2007 and 15 March 2008

More details on the Brussels Airlines site

Car-free Sunday on 23 September

To continue with the “thematic weekend” trend (Beer weekend, Heritage weekend…) this coming weekend will feature the car-free Sunday (two days might be too much to ask for car-loving Brusselites…).

To celebrate this day, there will be additional public transportation services (albeit still quite limited) and the promising possibility of riding a “polar tram” (somewhere along the “Royal axis” – the STIB website does not provide more details, but one could guess it will be along the rue Royale) from 10h00 to 18h00.

The polar tram is covered of ice inside out (possibly inspired from the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi – which is actually completely made out of ice – or the Ice bars that are proliferating all over) and is supposed to create a link in people’s minds between the use of public transportation and the preservation of the north and south poles through reduced CO2 emissions.

Heritage weekend in Brussels

If you missed Beer weekend last weekend, you might still have a chance to get immersed into Brussels culture, albeit a different kind…

Brussels will celebrate this year’s edition of the European heritage days (journees du patrimoine) this coming weekend (15-16 September) with special exhibits and activities around town. There will be an information point in the central Halles St. Gery (public transportation: Bourse) and the overall theme for the weekend will be “Light and lighting”. You can download the whole pdf program or check what’s going on by neighborhoods on the Brussels region site.

And if you happen to be in Paris for the weekend, you can check out their own version of the heritage days, which offer a larger amount of free cultural activities and visits, albeit with longer lines.

Music Festival in Brussels

If you feel like listening to some music, why not check out the 2007 edition of the annual Klara Festival (now until September 14)? The focus is heavily on classical music, but there are also jazz and other concerts. And for those of us who work late and can’t make it to Bozar for the evening concerts that start at 19h00 or 20h00, Klara offers good alternatives: Late night concerts starting at 22h00 and even lunch concerts at 12h30 on weekdays.

Prices are extremely reasonable: EUR 7 for lunch concerts, EUR 5 for the late night ones (or free if you went to the evening concert that same day). Evening concerts have a wider price range from around EUR 10 to EUR 70+ depending on the concert.  (If you’re short on budget, just get the cheap tickets – the great thing about having Bozar as a venue is that all seats are decent, which is not the case in many other European concert halls, so take advantage of your stay in Brussels!)

Brussels Airlines sale this Thursday, Sept. 6

Again, another online evening sale, which on this occasion includes all European destinations, starting at EUR 50 each way (taxes included). You can book your flight online between 18h00 and midnight on Thursday, September 6 and buy tickets for travel between 28 October 2007 and 29 March 2008.

If you are busy that evening and don’t have time to book your ticket, don’t worry about it: There are sales quite often and when you buy your ticket well ahead of time, you can generally find tickets at the same rates as during the evening sales.

Nocturnes: Evening visits to Brussels museums

If you’re looking for a cultural activity to fill up your Thursday evenings this fall, just wait a few more weeks and you’ll be able to enjoy a large selection of Brussels museums at a discounted price and at actually feasible times for those of us who work.

The “Nocturnes des musees bruxellois” start on Thursday, September 27 and run every Thursday from 17h00 to 22h00 through Thursday, December 20. The entrance costs around EUR 2.50 but in some cases, depending on the museum, it might be free and in other cases, it might also include a guided tour and other special activities.

The official schedule listing participating museums per week (usually between 5 and 7 each week) will be available on the website later this month.

More tips once the schedule is out.