Enchanting Winter Wonders Festival @ Brussels, Belgium
My last visit to Brussels was truly memorable.
This is because it coincided with the annual Winter Wonders Festivals held from from end Nov till early January. I must admit that this is my best ever Christmas experience to date. A truly astonishing experience for me and a far cry from what I usually experienced back home in Asia.
These five weeks long of winter carnival features a gigantic Christmas market with over 250 chalets set up around the Grand-Place, the stock exchange and on the Place St Catherine. An assortment of gastronomic and regional specialties ranging from traditional crafts, Christmas trinkets to seasonal snacks, food and drinks were on offer.
Apart from food and Christmas goodies, there were a number of fairground attractions including a huge outdoor ice skating ring that can accommodate couple of hundred skaters, Ferris wheel, slalom track and retro merry-go-round. I was truly immerse in the Christmas atmosphere just by watching on the stand and serenaded by the Christmas carols blasting through the air.
Feeling hungry and thirsty? Fear not as you will be spoilt for choice. From delicious Belgium fries, crepes, potato stews, churros to mouth watering desserts, the only issue you may face will surely be in deciding what to have as everything looked so yummy and tempting. Don't forget to taste the special winter drink of Gluhwein, essentially a spiced mulled wine.
A truly unique feature of Winter Wonders Festival is non-other than the Light and Sound Show at Grand-place. This stunning laser show combines artistic music, special sound effects and state of the art laser lights projected on the Gothic master-piece town hall building.
For further information and top Brussels travel tips, read my post on the top 10 things to do on a budget in Brussels.
