Planning a Trip to the Brussels Flower Carpet

When the hubs and I took our first weekend trip to Brussels 2 years ago, we saw signs for some “flower carpet” even that had happened the week or so prior. I think in the back of my mind I thought, “oh, we’ll check that out next year,” but as it turns out, it didn’t happen the next year!

The Brussels Flower Carpet happens every 2 years for one weekend only. Unlike the Keukenhof, where the flowers are planted and bloom for months, the Flower Carpet is built from cut flowers over a period of 8 hours and stays in place from Thursday night until Monday morning.

We made the drive from home in under 4 hours and made a day of it – eating moules frites & waffles, & drinking beer at Delirium Bar. Brussels isn’t my favorite city in terms of beauty — other than the Grand Place it feels a bit like Paris’ ugly stepsister, but I love their food and drink. No country does fries, waffles, or beer as good as Belgium and Brussels is the prime place to snag all 3 in short time.

The Grand Place was PACKED with visitors, something I generally hate because the more people there are, the more inconsiderately they seem to behave. It feels a bit rushed and doesn’t allow the time you may want to really take in the work. We waited in line for an hour for a $7 ticket to go upstairs in one of the government buildings to get a better view of the carpet. Still packed, but definitely worth it to be able to take in all of the detail. In a way it reminded me of the Rose Bowl parade back in the states — so much effort and beauty for such a short time! I also had never been into the buildings in all of my visits so that was cool to see the inside as well.

So you’re probably asking… is it worth it? And the answer is yes and no. If you are planning a trip to Europe and potentially Belgium, then yes, it is worth trying to adjust your timeline in order to get a glimpse at the stunning artwork. If you’re thinking about flying into Belgium just to see it, then probably not.

If you are planning a trip to the Brussels Flower Carpet, I recommend combining it with one of these options:

• As 1-night trip so you can see the light show on the carpet at night and then spend time at Delirium Bar before walking safely back to a hotel to sleep it off. This allows you to eat all the delicious food in the city as well
•  As a stop on the way to Brugge or Ghent. If you leave early enough, you can see the carpet in the morning and make it to the quainter cities of Belgium before the day is over
• On the way to the Westvleteren Brewery – almost 2 hours past Brussels, this brewery is home to what some call the best beer in the world. If you want to make sure you can bring beer home though, make sure you call a month or two in advance – this stuff sells out asap.Happy Travels!
  Xx
  Kali