The Brussels Times Magazine

Current Issue: February/March 2023

Magazine Articles

The cat’s whiskers: How Le Chat speaks for Belgium

"Their DNA is clearly anchored in this culture of pictures of Hergé or Magritte. If I were born in Lisbon or Paris, the drawings would not have been Le Chat, or have had the same philosophy and sense of absurdity, but also with this decent, caring side.”

Tuesday, 14 March 2023

Mad about Hooverphonic

The group’s unashamed Belgitude, as well as their close ties with Brussels, have been evident since their earliest days.

Tuesday, 7 March 2023

The tangled roots of Brucity, the city’s new flagship

The new glass mammoth stands on the site of not just a car park but before that, a dog track, an ice rink, a ballroom, a covered market, a fish market and the city’s original port on the vanished river.

Friday, 3 March 2023

Belgium's Justice Minister speaks about his life under threat

"The drugs world is threatening the public and decision-makers. I think it will get worse, and I’m afraid that more tragedies will follow."

Thursday, 23 February 2023

The unfathomable scale of justice

Few people alive have seen it in its original glory: for the past four decades, it has been hidden under a shroud of scaffolding. Now, however, there is a plan to patch up the crumbling Palace.

Sunday, 19 February 2023

Art and events in Brussels

The Brussels Times selects some of the best exhibitions currently on show in museums and galleries.

Thursday, 9 February 2023

The Brussels Metro’s underground art museum

From the beginning the designers wanted the underground to be "an open, lively and original environment, where Art needed a place." They wanted each station to have its own identity.

Monday, 6 February 2023

The Burgundians, the Low Country empire that time forgot

Seated on a small horse, John the Fearless led his troops and ordered them to annihilate the ‘insane’ and ‘vicious’ Liège rebels and to show them no quarter.

Sunday, 29 January 2023

Why Belgium’s winemakers are enjoying a vintage year

While Belgium is synonymous with beer, the country has recently been making waves with some award-winning wines.

Sunday, 22 January 2023

How Belgian bars and cafés are coping in the post-Covid era

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on Belgium’s beer and hospitality industry.

Saturday, 21 January 2023

Five Belgian cities in search of cultural capital

The competition is already heating up, with the five laying out their charms as if for a beauty contest.

Wednesday, 18 January 2023

The Belgian prince who refused the crowns

Philippe spent most of his life lingering in the shadows of his older brother, who would later become King Leopold II.

Monday, 16 January 2023

Brussels Food and Drink

"I love how Brussels, as a cosmopolitan city, naturally absorbs other cultures and makes eventually them its own."

Saturday, 14 January 2023

The tracks down the years: A short history of the Brussels Metro

Rail has been part of the Brussels transportation scene since the mid-1800s but it was only in the 1970s that the city unveiled its metro.

Wednesday, 4 January 2023

Why the Mons train station is running late

Mons is only Belgium’s 16th biggest station in terms of traveller numbers. It did not need such a gargantuan project so different to the original plan.

Tuesday, 3 January 2023

How Brussels is building its next metro line

Line 3 will be a new route with 18 stations crossing the city from north to south over a length of 10.3 km.

Wednesday, 28 December 2022

Hair Force One

"While my research is limited and less than scientific, I think I can conclude that some people here in Brussels see some added value in promoting their goods and services in the English language."

Friday, 23 December 2022

Interview: Belgian Defence Minister pledges to rebuild country’s armed forces

After Russia invaded Ukraine, most European countries began reinforcing their militaries, including Belgium, which announced €1 billion in extra defence spending.

Thursday, 22 December 2022

How Belgium moved on from the bombings

The bombings made many Belgians face up to questions about the nature of their society. Six and a half years on, Belgium is certainly less innocent and probably less liberal.

Monday, 19 December 2022

The teenage top gun sweeping the skies

This year, Belgo-Brit Mack Rutherford became the youngest person to fly solo around the world.

Thursday, 15 December 2022