Brussels Flower Carpet

What is the Brussels Flower Carpet?

The Grand-Place in Brussels is often called one of the most beautiful squares in the world, enclosed by the ornate, gilded guildhalls of the old trades and the Gothic tower of the town hall. Every two years, in mid-August, it becomes something even more remarkable. For a few days, its cobblestones disappear under the Flower Carpet, a vast tapestry made of nearly a million flowers.

The carpet covers about 1,800 square metres, almost the whole centre of the square. Each edition has a different design, often inspired by a theme, a country or a historical anniversary, drawn in intricate patterns of colour. Most of the flowers are begonias, a plant closely associated with Belgium, whose growers around Ghent are among the largest producers in the world, though some editions have used dahlias and other flowers. The 2026 edition, the 24th, celebrated 160 years of relations between Belgium and Japan, with a design by a Japanese artist.

The carpet is created in a single, intense effort. A team of volunteers works on the square to lay the flowers, packed tightly together, following the design traced on the ground, so that the finished carpet appears almost overnight. It is timed around August 15, Assumption Day, a public holiday in Belgium, and stays for about four days before the flowers fade.

The best view is from above. The balcony of the town hall is opened to the public during the event for a small fee, offering a bird's-eye view of the whole design. In the evenings, the carpet is lit up, sometimes with music and light shows, and the square becomes one of the most romantic places in Europe.

What to expect

The carpet is on display for about four days around mid-August, from morning until late in the evening.

Planning your trip

Getting there

Brussels is well connected by high-speed trains to Paris, London, Amsterdam and Cologne, and its main airport is about 20 minutes by train from the city centre. The Grand-Place is a few minutes' walk from Brussels Central station.

Where to stay

Anywhere in the centre is within walking distance of the Grand-Place. Brussels is a business city, so hotel prices often fall in August, when the European institutions slow down for the summer, making it a good time to visit.

What it costs

Seeing the carpet from the square is free. A ticket for the town hall balcony costs a few euros. Brussels is moderately priced, with excellent food, from waffles and fries to fine dining, at all budgets.

Go like you know

• Visit early in the morning for the calmest view, and again in the evening when the carpet is lit.
• Try a Belgian waffle and a cone of fries, and a beer on a terrace near the square.
• Look up at the guildhalls, each decorated with symbols of its trade.
• Walk a few minutes to the Manneken Pis and the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, a nineteenth-century shopping arcade, while you are in the centre.
• Brussels' Ommegang, around the start of July, fills the same square with a Renaissance pageant.
• For another festival built from flowers, see the Dutch Bloemencorso Zundert, with its giant dahlia floats, in early September.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Brussels Flower Carpet?

Every two years, in even-numbered years, for about four days around August 15. The 2026 edition ran from August 13 to 16. The next is expected in August 2028; the city announces the dates and the design in the months before.

How many flowers are used?

Nearly a million flowers are needed to cover the 1,800 square metres of the carpet, mostly begonias, though some editions have used dahlias and other flowers. They are packed tightly together in the patterns of the design, which changes with each edition.

Can I walk on the carpet?

No. The carpet is fenced off, and visitors walk around its edges or view it from the town hall balcony. The flowers are delicate and would be damaged by footsteps, and the carpet only lasts a few days, so it is protected for everyone to enjoy.