It rains in Brussels around 200 days a year. Knowing what to do indoors is therefore not a luxury but a survival skill, whether you have lived here for years, are visiting for a weekend or are the parent of children going round in circles.
Here are twelve tried-and-tested ideas, ranked from the calmest to the liveliest, each with its ideal audience and budget. Several combine perfectly in a single day.
1. Make your own perfume or candle in a workshop
Two hours in the warm, hands busy, and something to take home: the creative workshop is the ultimate rainy-day activity. At Break-it on Rue de Flandre you can compose your perfume, pour a scented candle, create jewellery or decorate a bento cake. No booking needed for individuals, €35 to €70 per person, a stone’s throw from Place Sainte-Catherine.
2. Museums, especially the lesser-known ones
The Magritte Museum and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts are unanimous favourites, but they get packed when it rains. Consider the alternatives: the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) with its Art Nouveau lift, the Fin-de-Siècle Museum, Train World in Schaerbeek for families, or the Design Museum at Heysel. Most are free on the first Sunday or Wednesday afternoon of the month.
3. A mosaic or clay workshop to slow down
When the rain settles in for the afternoon, slow activities make perfect sense. Mosaic takes two and a half hours of peaceful focus; air-dry clay lets you shape a bowl or a jewellery holder without a kiln. Two formats ideal for a parent-child duo or a couple’s outing.
4. The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert
The 19th-century glass roof keeps the rain out while letting the light in. Bookshops, chocolatiers, the Galeries cinema, a café: you can spend two hours there without ever stepping out from under the glass. Continue to Rue des Bouchers for a meal.
5. An escape room
Brussels has dozens of rooms, from the centre to Ixelles. Expect €25 to €35 per person for an hour, ideal for a group of 3 to 6. Book ahead at weekends: rainy slots go fast.
6. A long, lazy brunch
Brussels brunch is a rainy-Sunday institution. Around Sainte-Catherine, Flagey or Châtelain you will find addresses for every budget. Tip: book, then plan a workshop or a museum afterwards so you do not head straight back under the duvet.
7. An arthouse cinema screening
Cinéma Galeries, Nova, Palace or Vendôme show original-version films in human-sized theatres. A safe bet at the end of a rainy day.
8. A bento cake workshop with the family
Children love it, parents too: decorate your own mini cake with cream and colours, then take it home for tea. The bento cake workshop lasts two hours and replaces the afternoon snack. Ideal from age 8.
9. The Laeken greenhouses or Meise Botanic Garden
Mind the dates: the royal greenhouses open only for a few weeks in spring. Meise Botanic Garden, however, is open all year and its Plant Palace lets you visit the tropics under glass while it pours outside.
10. A pool or a wellness centre
Rain is the best excuse for an afternoon of sauna, hammam or heated pool. Several centres in the Brussels region offer attractive weekday rates.
11. A board game café
Hundreds of games to borrow, a hot drink, and an afternoon that flies by. Perfect for 4 or 6, often without booking on weekdays.
12. The Chocolate Museum, then a tasting
Cliché but effective, especially with visiting friends. Combine the visit with a guided tasting at an artisan chocolatier in the Sablon.
How to put together a successful rainy day
- Alternate a calm activity with a lively one so everyone gets something out of it.
- Book whatever can be booked: on rainy days, everyone has the same idea at the same time.
- Stay in one neighbourhood to limit walks in the wet: Sainte-Catherine and the centre concentrate museums, workshops, cafés and cinemas.
- Plan one activity “with something to take home”: it is what people remember best.
Break-it welcomes individuals without booking every day from 10 am to 8 pm at Rue de Flandre 73, Brussels. Browse all our creative workshops or contact us to organise a group outing.
