Where can you eat the best mussels and fries in Brussels?

Our selection: Brasserie Auguste on the Grand-Place, La Roue d'Or (rue des Chapeliers 26), Le Pré Salé in the Sainte-Catherine district (rue de Flandre 20) and Big Mama chez Thierry, steps from the Grand-Place.

How much do mussels and fries cost in central Brussels?

Expect from €18.90 for mussels marinière at Brasserie Auguste up to €24 at Big Mama chez Thierry — the best value around the Grand-Place.

Which restaurant has a view of the Flower Carpet?

Brasserie Auguste sits directly on the Grand-Place, with a view of the 2026 Flower Carpet (13–17 August).

Do I need to book during the Flower Carpet?

Yes. Booking is strongly recommended over the 15 August weekend; each address in the article has a direct booking link.

Heritage Days 2026 Brussels: programme, bookings and top 5

Two days, 19 and 20 September 2026, and an entire city opening its doors: the Heritage Days celebrate their 38th edition across the Brussels-Capital Region. This year’s theme: “Our landscape, our legacy”, part of Urban’s annual focus on urban landscapes.

Squares, parks, streets, perspectives, panoramas: for one weekend, heritage is not only old stone, it is the setting we live in. And dozens of rarely accessible places open up.

The whole weekend, how it works

When? Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026, across the 19 municipalities of the Region. Each site has its own time slots — check the programme.
Bookings: open since 8 September 2026 at 1 pm on the official site. Booking is required for some venues and for all activities (guided tours, walks, workshops, bike, boat and tram rides). Many are already full; the online programme shows live availability.
Info point — new in 2026: all weekend at Mont des Arts 20, from 10 am to 5 pm. Information, Urban’s publications, and the 20 winning photographs of Urban Zoom Schools 2026, selected from more than 850 entries by Brussels secondary-school pupils.
Phone line on 19 and 20 September, 10 am to 5 pm: 02/432.83.00.
No printed brochure this year (ecological and economic reasons): the full programme and interactive map are online.
Sunday matters: 20 September is car-free day. No vehicles in the Region between 9.30 am and 7 pm. The best day of the year to do heritage on foot or by bike.
Accessibility: the programme can be filtered by accessibility level. Nine venues offer a guided tour in Belgian French sign language (LSFB), listed in the official FAQ.
Price: the event is free; only booking is needed where requested.

Gothic wood-panelled hall inside Brussels Town Hall on the Grand-Place — Brussels Town Hall, Grand-Place. © Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

Our top 5 across the Region

1. Brussels Town Hall — Grand-Place (1000)

The Gothic masterpiece of the World Heritage-listed Grand-Place opens for visits. State rooms, woodwork, tapestries: the finest way into the historic centre’s “landscape”. Pair it with the King’s House – Brussels City Museum, also on the programme.

2. National Basilica of the Sacred Heart — Koekelberg

The largest Art Deco church in the world dominates western Brussels. It is on the 2026 programme and offers one of the best viewpoints in the Region: from up there, “our landscape” stops being an abstraction.

National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg seen from the park — National Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Koekelberg. © Markus Koljonen · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

3. Tour & Taxis and park L28A — Laeken / canal

The reinvented industrial site is central to this edition: “Tour & Taxis, where Brussels reinvents itself”, the site as a new urban landscape, park L28A, the Port of Brussels headquarters and the canal banks. The clearest demonstration of heritage put back to work.

The Tour & Taxis site and the Brussels skyline — Tour & Taxis and the Brussels skyline. © Lmangiat · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

4. WIELS and the WIELS marsh — Forest

The former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, a modernist icon turned contemporary art centre, and right beside it the WIELS marsh, a wetland that appeared spontaneously on an abandoned building site. Industrial heritage plus wild urban nature: the 2026 theme in a single visit.

The modernist WIELS building, former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery in Forest — WIELS, former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, Forest. © Marc Wathieu · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

5. Saints-Pierre-et-Guidon Collegiate Church and its panorama — Anderlecht

West of the city, the historic heart of Anderlecht: the Gothic collegiate church and its panorama, steps from the Erasmus House gardens and the beguinage, both on the programme too. A village inside the city that most Brussels residents have never seen from above.

The Halle Gate, last remnant of the second city wall of Brussels — The Halle Gate reopens its panoramic view during the weekend. © Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

And for night owls

The official programme includes an “Early birds & night owls” category: activities very early or late in the day, when the light changes everything. Among the evening slots, the “Couleurs vespérales” walk — already fully booked at the time of writing, like several gems. Filter that category in the programme: cancellations free up places until the last minute.

Other favourites spotted in the programme: the Halle Gate and its reopened panoramic view, the Brussels masonic temples, the Grand Hospice, the Solvay Library, the Evere Mill, the Familistère Godin, the Zavelenberg meadows and 50 years of the metro.

Three field tips

Book whatever is left now, then build the day around it: free-access venues fill the gaps.
On Sunday, play the car-free day: bike, tram, walking.
Pick a municipality you don’t know. That is where the theme really lands.

Heritage Days 2026: the full Brussels heritage weekend and our top 5