may-2012

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BRUSSELS
BELGIUM Population 10,438,353 Dialling code +32 Currency Euro Average temp. (May-Jun) 13.5ºC
Culinary delights
If you ate out in Brussels every night of
the week for a year you still couldn’t
experience every restaurant gem the
city has to offer. So time-conscious
foodies shouldn’t miss Culinaria
(culinariasquare.com), an annual event
that may not come under the official
Brusselicious umbrella but is a key
event in the city’s culinary calendar.
Every year Culinaria brings together 16
of Belgium’s most prominent Michelinstarred
chefs for several days of
workshops, demonstrations and
tastings at the shopping and events
venue Tour & Taxis. Attendants get to
enjoy four taster menus devised by the
chefs, who each make one of the
dishes. If you were to visit just one of
the restaurants, a meal would probably
set you back double the cost of entry
to Culinaria, but here everything is
included in the ticket price. This year
the event takes place from 31 May
until 3 June.
Zinneke Parade
If the Rio Carnival was transported to
the cobbled streets of Brussels it
would look something like the Zinneke
Parade (zinneke.be). The parade takes
place every two years and began in
2000 when Brussels was the European
City of Culture. As many as 30,000
people are expected to turn up to see
this fantastic street parade featuring
giant mannequins carefully
constructed by city residents who sign
up for the Zinneke workshops. The
word Zinneke is a Brussels term that
used to refer to a stray dog or mutt but
now refers to the multifaceted,
cosmopolitan heritage of the city’s
inhabitants. Around 4,000 people take
part in the parade, which takes months
of preparation and combines
everything from theatre to circus to
giant puppetry to music and dance.
This year’s theme is “disorder”, so
expect lots of riotous fun. It takes
place on 19 May.
Cocktail capers
Brussels may not be a tropical city but
its inhabitants certainly love the
summer. At the first sign of sunshine
most people head for the nearest
terrace bar for an apéro (aperitif) and
drink the evening away in the company
of friends. Les Apéros Urbains (aperos.
be) takes the concept a step further –
every Friday night from June until the
Costume drama: the Zinekke
Parade will have some 4,000
people participating
start of September, it sets up outdoor
aperitif bars in different locations
across the city. Everyone is welcome
and the real mix of people from
tourists to students to professionals
means it is not only a place to hang
out with old friends but also a great
way to make new ones. There are DJs,
prizes and lots of drinks as well as free
transport from various points across
the city so that you can enjoy yourself
without having to worry about driving
home afterwards. And for the hardiest
partiers the Aperos Club after-party
gives revellers a chance to dance to
some of the best DJs in the city’s best
clubs until sunrise. Check the website
for the full schedule.
way to go Trains from Brussels airport run every 15 minutes at peak times and the journey takes 20-25 minutes. Tickets cost
€5.20 one way. Alternatively, the number 12 bus runs every 30 minutes between the airport and Rond-Point Schuman, and costs
€3 for a one-way ticket. A taxi from the airport to the city centre costs about €45 and the journey time is 25 minutes.
Paradis de la
gastronomie
Même si vous sortiez dîner tous les
soirs à Bruxelles, en un an vous
n’arriveriez pas à faire le tour des
somptueux restaurants que compte la
ville. Alors, pour les gastronomes qui
ne veulent pas perdre de temps,
Culinaria (culinariasquare.com) est
incontournable. Cet événement
annuel, qui ne fait pas partie des
festivités officielles de Brusselicious,
reste cependant un moment clé dans
l’agenda culinaire de la capitale.
Chaque année, Culinaria accueille 16
des plus grands chefs belges étoilés au
Michelin, au cours de quelques
journées d’ateliers, de démonstrations
et de dégustations dans le décor
authentique de Tour & Taxis. Les
visiteurs ont la possibilité de savourer
quatre menus dégustations concoctés
par les chefs, qui préparent chacun un
des plats. Si vous allez manger dans le
restaurant d’un de ces chefs, un repas
vous coûtera sans doute le double du
billet d’entrée à Culinaria, mais ici le
forfait est tout compris. Cette année,
ce festival du goût se déroule du 31
mai au 3 juin.
Zinneke Parade
Si l’on transposait le Carnaval de Rio
dans les rues pavées de la capitale
bruxelloise, cela ressemblerait à peu
de choses près à la Zinneke Parade
(zinneke.be). Ce défilé qui se déroule
tous les deux ans, a été lancé en 2000
lorsque Bruxelles était Ville
européenne de la Culture. Près de
30 000 visiteurs sont attendus à cette
fantastique parade urbaine où défilent
des personnages géants, fabriqués
avec soin par les résidents de la ville
dans les ateliers de la Zinneke.
Zinneke en bruxellois désigne un chien
errant ou bâtard, mais aujourd’hui ce
terme est devenu le symbole des