Go for a stroll in the Canal district

With the canal as its backbone, this district, which is as varied as it is creative, is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant in Brussels. Architectural curiosities, citizen projects and sustainable initiatives all contribute to the identity of the former industrial heart of the capital. A favourite with creative people and young hipsters, the Canal district is a promising and inspiring work in progress. Street art, industrial wastelands, urban farms and alternative music... Here is our 6-stop itinerary to immerse yourself in this lively, arty and slightly underground neighbourhood for a day.

10h00, Ruby Gallery

After the MIMA, the iMal and KANAL, Ruby Gallery is the newest member of the club of local institutions that are boosting contemporary art. Founded by the team behind The Crystal Ship festival, it showcases street art and lets a whole new generation of artists express themselves. After your visit, walk along Quai des Charbonnages and Quai des Péniches towards Tour & Taxis: their walls are full of tags and murals. Among them, you can't miss the one from the adventures of Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese. It's the longest of its kind in the capital!

19 Boulevard de Dixmude, 1000 Brussels

11h30, Parckfarm

With its motto "from the pitchfork to the plate", ParckFarm is a green space composed of an urban vegetable garden, in the middle of which stands a greenhouse, the Farm house. Supported by the ParckFarm non-profit organisation, the park is a citizen's platform that promotes ecological, sustainable and solidarity-based practices. This long, green valley offers an astonishing view of the northern district and its skyline!

Boulevard du Jubilé - Jubelfeestaan, 1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean

12h35, Gare Maritime

A meeting point for hipsters and gourmets (among others), the Gare Maritime is the trendiest venue of the moment. A former cargo terminal in operation until the 1980s, it has been brilliantly renovated. The first thing you notice here is the architectural grandeur: The combination of iron pillars, the 19th century glass roof and Scandinavian-style light-coloured wood is a triumph. People come and spend time here for the atmosphere, the interior gardens and its tempting food court. Join one of the many guided tours that introduce you, in detail, to this neighbourhood within a neighbourhood.

11 rue Picard, 1000 Brussels

gare-matime-tour&taxis brussels architecture

Gare Maritime - Tour & Taxis

The Gare Maritime - From industrial freight station to energy neutral urban jungle! It is the perfect setting for innovative cultural events, film or photo shoots, trade shows, fairs, product launches or promotions. The historic station concourse that was part of the Gare Maritime has been transformed into an indoor city with its own food hall (coming September 2021), exclusive shops and offices. Countless unique and inspiring areas and warm, wooden structures alternate in this building complex. It is perfectly suited to accommodate both small and major events. The monumental nave is a true architectural eye-catcher, bathed in indirect sunlight and providing ample space for well-attended indoor activities. Any event in the Gare Maritime is a green event. Sustainability has been key during the renovation works. The building generates its own energy from renewable sources, using geothermics and solar panels. The green boulevards on either side of the nave are lined with themed gardens and tall trees, as if the adjacent park found its way inside. The Gare Maritime is a unique place - attractive, innovative and ambitious.

Historical venues

Gare Maritime - Tour & Taxis

LaVallée

LaVallée, a 6 000 m² former industrial laundry in Molenbeek, is a 'third place' that houses a community of artists and creative entrepreneurs, offering a multidisciplinary cultural programme, as well as spaces for rent. It is a dynamic and friendly space thanks to the synergies between its various occupants, and its high quality yet offbeat programming.

LaVallée

Kanal - Centre Pompidou

Kanal-Centre Pompidou, Europe’s largest museum development, will open to the public in Brussels on Saturday 28 November 2026. It will be the city’s first world class museum of modern and contemporary art and architecture. Housed in the transformed 40,000 sqm former Citroën factory, under one sweeping roof, Kanal features 5 floors of state of the art gallery spaces. It also includes a 7 metre high basement gallery, dedicated spaces for Kanal Architecture (formerly CIVA, the city’s Centre for Architecture, Landscape and Urban Planning), performance and film screening auditoria, workshops and community spaces, cafes and rooftop restaurant/bar with views across the city, an in-house bakery and shops, with generous indoor circulation spaces open free to everyone all day, and leading into a new public square.

Kanal - Centre Pompidou

Kaaitheater

Kaaitheater is a Brussels arts centre, presenting local and international performing arts productions: from the 1980s to the present, from repertoire to experimental, from small theatre to large. In a world of one-off hits, Kaaitheater offers artists long-term commitment. Social and ecological topics are a prominent element in its programme. Kaaitheater presents about 75 productions each season on two locations in the Brussels' canal zone: Kaaitheater and Kaaistudio's. Kaaitheater (but not the Kaaistudio’s) is undergoing renovation works and its activities are partly hosted by other theatres in Brussels and the surrounding area: De Kriekelaar, KVS, CC de Factorij, CC Strombeek, Westrand, Bronks, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Atelier 210, Halles de Schaerbeek, Rosas Performance Space, Tour & Taxis, AB, Raffinerie Charleroi Danse, Théâtre Varia.

Kaaitheater

iMAL, Center for Digital Cultures and Technology

iMAL is a cultural organisation, located in Molenbeek, Brussels, combining the roles of an Art Center and a Lab. It is a meeting place between different communities with a special attention to the local scene. iMAL's 25th anniversary marks the beginning of a broader reflection on resilience, resistance to the dominant definition of progress, and the responsibility of fostering solidarity. iMAL supports artistic practices that critically engage with digital technologies. We propose a multi-voiced and transdisciplinary approach to contemporary issues through our program consisting of exhibitions, research and production residencies, reflection and training, and public engagement. iMAL also has its own workshop, the iMAL Fablab, where residencies take place every year. The Fablab also has its own public access system, with the aim of making technology accessible to all without distinction. In the coming years, iMAL will explore the degrowth of computation and aims to emphasize the importance of regenerative production ecosystems. iMAL is only open during its public events. Please check our programme for further information.

iMAL, Center for Digital Cultures and Technology

Tour & Taxis park

With its nine hectares, Tour & Taxis Park is the largest park in the center of Brussels. Until 2014, it was an abandoned railway site. Now, urban farming is even practiced there, and sustainable food is promoted thanks to Parckfarm. This initiative involves many people in this green space. There is a community orchard, a vegetable garden, a neighborhood compost, a chicken coop, beehives, and a bread oven. The bees promote the park’s biodiversity. Be sure to get a jar of honey. At the Farmhouse, a greenhouse with a cafeteria, you can enjoy vegetarian dishes made from local products. There’s a reading corner and you can play various games there. Join one of the guided tours, activities, or workshops. You can even garden or bake bread. There is also an obelisk in the park. If you look closely, you will see that all the articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are inscribed on it. The playground in the park was built with materials recovered from the former railway line that used to run there. What you absolutely must not miss is the Gare Maritime, a beautiful hall with a food market. If you love beer, be sure to visit one of the many breweries in the neighborhood.

Tour & Taxis park

15h00, LaVallée

An old disused laundry transformed into a cultural hive, you say? Head to Molenbeek, just across the canal. Open to creation in all its forms, LaVallée infuses the social and solidarity economy and creativity by bringing together a multidisciplinary community in the shadow of its emblematic red brick chimney. Throughout the year, it offers a varied programme of exhibitions, concerts, DJ-sets, debates and conferences, all of which punctuate the famous evenings of this hybrid, friendly and welcoming place.

39 rue Adolphe Lavallée, 1080 Brussels

(c)smart coopérative - Alexis Haulot

17h30, Wim Delvoye, Cement Truck

A medieval-looking semi-trailer parked in the middle of the quai au Foin? No, you're not dreaming! "Cement Truck" is a three-dimensional work of art made entirely of carefully laser-cut steel. Conceived by Wim Delvoye, a leading figure in Belgian contemporary art, this astonishing piece of construction machinery provokes astonishment. By combining the finesse of the Gothic style with the massive silhouette of a truck, the work plays on the discrepancy between the centuries and aesthetics with a lot of humour and a touch of provocation.

Quai au Foin - Hooikaai, 1000 Brussels

Cement-truck-Wim-Delvoye brussels contemporary art

20h45, Magasin 4

Magasin4, or M4 to its fans, is an unusual place dedicated to alternative music. With its tagged walls lined with punk posters and its fanzine spirit, it acts as a link between the big venues and the small bars. It has kept something of the underground soul of its beginnings back in 1994, even if its programming likes to mix genres: Hardcore, Funk, Metal, Alternative Rock, Pop and lots of original fusions! Fans of indie music and parties that go on late into the night, this mythical place is the place for you!

51B avenue du Port, 1000 Brussels