Winter Wonders Christmas Market

Each December, Brussels' city centre transforms for Winter Wonders, a month-long Christmas market spreading across the Grand-Place and the surrounding historic streets. Wooden chalets line the routes selling handicrafts, ornaments and gifts, while an enormous illuminated Christmas tree and a large outdoor ice rink give the market its centrepiece attractions.

As with any Belgian gathering of this scale, food and drink are given serious attention: waffles served warm with every imaginable topping, hot chocolate made with genuine Belgian couverture, roasted chestnuts and mulled wine all feature prominently among the market stalls, alongside more substantial fare like frites and Flemish stew. A nightly light and sound show projected onto the Grand-Place's Gothic façades has become one of the market's signature draws, giving Brussels' already striking main square an extra layer of festive spectacle after dark.

For a city already renowned for its chocolate and waffles year-round, Winter Wonders offers those same specialities wrapped in the particular atmosphere only a European Christmas market can provide — one of the more reliably charming ways to experience Brussels during the darkest, coldest weeks of the year.