Brussels finally has its date: KANAL opens on Saturday 28 November 2026 by the canal in Brussels. The opening party is generous: 36 hours of free access to the building, from Saturday 10am to Sunday 10pm, non-stop.
One detail, however, changes everything for your weekend plans.
🎟️ The 30,000 exhibition tickets are already gone
Bookings opened on 15 September. According to KANAL’s official press release of 16 September, the 30,000 free tickets for the exhibitions were claimed within 24 hours. No new release has been announced so far.
The good news: the rest of the building and the weekend activities remain free, with no ticket or booking needed. Restaurants and bars will be open, but food and drinks are paid as usual.
| Access | Opening weekend hours | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Building and activities | Sat 28/11, 10am → Sun 29/11, 10pm | Free, no booking |
| Exhibitions, Saturday | 10am – midnight | Booked ticket + time slot |
| Exhibitions, Sunday | 10am – 10pm | Booked ticket + time slot |
In other words: the building stays alive all night, the exhibition galleries do not.
🖼️ Ten exhibitions to start with
KANAL opens with ten shows, one of them devoted to architecture. The most anticipated, A truly immense journey, brings together more than 350 works, mostly from the Centre Pompidou, as well as from KANAL and Belgian collections. Visitors will find Matisse, Picasso, Sonia Delaunay, Giacometti, Lygia Clark and Wifredo Lam, alongside Sammy Baloji, Edith Dekyndt and Hana Miletić. It is announced until 9 January 2028.
Alongside it: NO SHOW, An infinite woman — Black archives in two acts, Right to the City – Right to the Future, Joëlle Tuerlinckx, the Département des Pièges, Banu Cennetoğlu, Manon de Boer, Joshua Serafin and Otobong Nkanga.
🍽️ A place to live by the canal
KANAL is more than galleries. From 28 November, the site announces the Carrosserie brasserie by the water, the Jeanne restaurant, a bakery, a rooftop bar, the freely accessible Panorama terrace, a bookshop and a playground. The “And we’re LIVE!” release mentions more than 20,000 m² of freely accessible public space and a first live season from December 2026 to June 2027 (Ula Sickle, Miet Warlop, Ictus, Vermeir & Heiremans…).
Before the public opening, KANAL invites nearly 5,000 children from 27 Brussels schools on 25 November, followed by local residents, associations and collectives.
🕰️ After the opening: announced hours and prices
- Public spaces: Wednesday to Sunday, 8am to midnight (closed Monday and Tuesday).
- Main exhibition: 11am to 7pm, until 10pm on Thursdays.
- Art ticket (excluding NO SHOW): €18; NO SHOW ticket: €14; combo: €24. Free for under-12s, reduced rates for 13–26-year-olds according to the official price list.
One part comes later: the KANAL Architecture archive and research centre (formerly CIVA, more than 500 archive collections) is announced for the fourth quarter of 2027.
Address: Square Sainctelette 21, 1000 Brussels. The detailed free weekend programme is being published gradually on the official website: check it before you go.
🔗 Sources & verifiable links
- KANAL — official website: https://kanal.brussels/en
- KANAL — press release, 11 September 2026: https://kanal.brussels/en/press/kanal-opens-28-november-free-inaugural-weekend-all
- KANAL — press release, 16 September 2026: https://kanal.brussels/en/press/30-000-free-tickets-kanal-opening-weekend-claimed-one-day
- KANAL — opening exhibitions: https://kanal.brussels/en/opening-exhibitions
- KANAL — And we’re LIVE!: https://kanal.brussels/en/press/and-were-live
- KANAL — tickets: https://kanal.brussels/fr/tickets
- So Soir (Le Soir), 16 September 2026: https://sosoir.lesoir.be/771254/article/2026-09-16/kanal-ouvre-enfin-bruxelles-un-premier-week-end-gratuit-et-des-billets-reserver
- BRUZZ, 17 September 2026: https://www.bruzz.be/actua/eenvoudig-nederlands/nieuw-kunstmuseum-kanal-opent-november-alle-30000-gratis-tickets-zijn-weg-2026-09-17
