Good afternoon from Avenue Louise.
It’s Katie Westwood here, back holding the pen on the Belgium in Brief newsletter on this most foolish of April days.
If you ask Brussels residents to name the chicest part of the city, many will plump for the lovely Sablon neighbourhood.
I always take visitors there to show them the fancy boutiques, high-end chocolate shops and eye-wateringly expensive antique stores that show the most sophisticated side of the Belgian capital.
But – and I think you can sense a whinge coming on here – it would be a significantly nicer experience for visitors if they didn’t have to wind their way through the dozens of SUVs and sports cars clogging the square.
As our News Editor Ugo Realfonzo writes, having a “vast, chaotic car park” in the heart of Sablon is redolent of how the city’s crown jewel, the Grand Place, was once treated as a glorified parking lot.
Thankfully, city authorities are starting to see sense. The City of Brussels is preparing a redevelopment of the square, sans voitures.
Best of all, it sounds like a sensible compromise is in the offing, whereby parking in the middle of the square is restricted, but there will be an increase in parking spaces in the nearby streets so that anyone reliant on a car for getting around can still access the area.
Staying on the subject of the city’s aesthetics, reporter Anas El Baye spoke to a representative of regional agency Brussels Cleanliness to ask them why plastic bins are not the standard method for collecting household waste throughout the city.
I would love to see something akin to the system they had in my old stomping ground in Liverpool, where residents had a curious attachment to their household purple wheelie bins (I kid you not: go to any Scouse gift shop and you will find purple wheelie bin keyrings and pen holders).
As many of you have pointed out, a system like this seems like a no-brainer solution to the problem of stinking rubbish bags littering the streets of Brussels.
Alas it seems we are doomed to dealing with the cursed coloured rubbish bags forever more. Brussels Cleanliness told Anas that for a variety of reasons (not all of them particularly convincing), the organisation is lukewarm on the idea of introducing plastic bins as standard throughout the city.
Anyway, enough of my moaning. Don’t forget to read our monthly update on all the legal changes coming into effect in Belgium today. And finally, if you’re short of ideas on what to do with kids this Easter weekend, check out Aoife White’s family guide to Easter, which is full of great ideas for activities in and around Brussels.
Belgium in Brief is a free daily roundup of the top stories to get you through your coffee break conversations. To receive it straight to your inbox every day, sign up below:
1. Higher minimum wage, closed brothels, fines: What changes in Belgium on 1 April?
From the latest on Brussels LEZ to what's happening with Peppol, business closures and unemployment benefits: find the most important changes for April here. Read more.
2. Brussels to make this square into ‘the most chic in Belgium’
A new vision for a popular Brussels square will remove the open-air car park at the heart of it and return it to residents. Even if it may take a while. Read more.
3. Why can’t all Brussels residents put their rubbish in big plastic bins?
A spokesperson for Brussels Cleanliness explained to The Brussels Times why plastic rubbish bags remain the norm in most communes in Brussels. Read more.
4. Brussels for kids: What to do with your family this Easter weekend
From educational egg hunts to a battlefield Easter event, there are lots of ways to keep your family entertained this Easter weekend. Read more.
5. Netflix loses legal battle against Belgium’s French-speaking community
The American press is speaking of a "potentially landmark case" as its outcome may set an important precedent for streaming services. Read more.
6. Dutch schoolboy convicted of planning terror attack on Flemish Parliament in Brussels
The Leeuwarden court has sentenced the boy to three months of suspended juvenile detention with a two-year probationary period. Read more.
7. Best ice cream maker in Belgium opens new parlour in Brussels
The Brussels ice cream maker who won the prize for Belgium's best ice cream in 2025 is now opening a new location in the capital. Read more.
