Belgium
België1 region
Belgium suits a visitor who wants several markets close together without long transfers. Brussels' Winter Wonders runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and Ghent and Bruges sit on the same rail line west of the capital, each with a market of its own. Brussels has the most trains and the biggest market, so it makes the easiest base. Belgian children get their presents from Sinterklaas on 6 December, weeks before Christmas.
How Belgium keeps Christmas
- SinterklaasSinterklaas brings the presents on the morning of 6 December, and French-speaking Belgians know him as Saint-Nicolas. Children set out a shoe the night before with hay or a carrot for his horse, and some Belgian homes add a beer for Piet and a coffee for the saint.
Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat in mid-November, and Belgian television carries the arrival live. From then until 6 December children put out their shoes and sing to him, and the presents usually come with a teasing poem. The treats are mandarins, speculaas and chocolate letters. In Wallonia the saint's companion goes by the name Père Fouettard.
His helper Zwarte Piet has been the subject of a long argument. The traditional Piet was played in blackface, which critics call a racist caricature. In 2016 Flemish children's broadcasters, toy shops, theatres and education bodies signed a Pietenpact, and from 2017 no fully black-painted Piets appeared in their work. Big cities such as Antwerp and Ghent moved to roetveegpieten (Piets with soot smudges from the chimney), while the old figure stayed visible in parts of the countryside, and Flemish towns saw protests for and against him in 2023.
Christmas Day is the only official public holiday of the season in Belgium. 26 December counts as a national observance, and each employer decides whether staff get it off. In Wallonia and Brussels bakers shape cougnou (a sweet bread) like the infant Jesus, and children eat it at Christmas with hot chocolate. Brussels' Winter Wonders closes at 18:00 on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Eve, and the Grand-Place light show skips both nights.
Market in Belgium
Town in Belgium
Light festival in Belgium
Event in Belgium
Stay in Belgium
Quick answers about Belgium
Is Zwarte Piet still part of Sinterklaas in Belgium?
In most big cities the figure has changed. In 2016 Flemish children's broadcasters, toy shops and theatres signed a pact to stop using fully black-painted Piets from 2017, and big cities such as Antwerp and Ghent use roetveegpieten (Piets with soot smudges from the chimney). Some villages still keep the old figure, and the debate continues.
Are the Brussels markets open on Christmas Eve?
Winter Wonders opens from 12:00 to 18:00 on 24 December 2026, with no light show on the Grand-Place that evening. It keeps the same early closing on New Year's Eve.
Who brings the presents in Belgium?
In Belgium, Sinterklaas brings the presents. Sinterklaas brings the presents on the morning of 6 December, and French-speaking Belgians know him as Saint-Nicolas. Children set out a shoe the night before with hay or a carrot for his horse, and some Belgian homes add a beer for Piet and a coffee for the saint.
When do the Christmas markets run in Belgium?
In Belgium, the Brussels Winter Wonders market runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Bruges has announced its market for 20 November to 3 January, and Ghent's Winter Festival runs from 3 December to 3 January.