Ah, the summer…time to get your summer clothes out of their boxes again! It's also the perfect time to buy cheap vintage clothes by the kilo! We stay out late, chatting on the terraces and the abundant vitamin D brings colour to our moods and cheeks. When you think of the summer, you think of festivals and all kinds of outdoor events. The stages are set amongst the greenery, hosting music festival after music festival and even Belgium's national day celebrations. And why not travel back in time some five hundred years!

Festival Musiq3 at Flagey presents three vibrant days of jazz, world and classical music. * Summer really starts with Couleur Café. The festival brings the best funk, hip-hop, reggae, dance, dub, soul and Latin to the capital. * The highlight of the Brussels Renaissance Festival is the Ommegang in the first week of July. This impressive procession - with some 1,400 extras in traditional costumes - recreates Charles V and his son Crown Prince Philip's glorious entry into Brussels. * Brussels' Grand-Place (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is, of course, the most beautiful square in the world. Every two years in August, the renowned Flower Carpet adds to its splendour. * The Bal National is an exuberant popular festival on the eve of Belgium's National Day. Highlights of the day's festivities include the impressive military parade and firework display.

Can't wait for the new cultural season? Then come and discover new dance forms as early as August at the Brigittines Summer Festival in Les Brigittines * or go wild to techno music under the capital's motorway bridges at the XRDS Crossroads Festival *  Brussels Design Week and RendezVous bring some colour to the end of the summer holidays, as Brussels' galleries pull out all the stops. * Going back to school is made easier by the return of the Comic Strip Festival, a festival for all the family.