[custom_adv] As it's always a bummer when you travel somewhere and notice on the day of your arrival that everything's closed, I thought it would be practical if I compiled a list of Belgian holidays in Belgium, which I'll update each year. [custom_adv] Belgium has different kinds of holidays. First of all, there are the nationwide public holidays in Belgium. These national holidays are like the bank holidays in the UK. On these bank holidays in Belgium, most Belgian businesses and organizations – except for the police stations and the hospitals – are closed so you could say they are the most important holidays in Belgium. [custom_adv] When a Belgian public holiday falls is on a Thursday or Tuesday, businesses will often “make the bridge” and give all employees a long weekend off. If these holidays are on a weekend, however, the employer can decide whether to compensate that by giving the employees an extra day off or not. [custom_adv] Stores in Belgium are generally closed on Sunday, but you'll see that there are some retail stores that do open on Sunday and instead will close for a day during the week (Although there are some exceptions – for stores in touristic places, for example – retail stores in Belgium are obliged to close for one day during the week). These stores are often also open on Belgian Public Holidays. [custom_adv] Then there are also the “government holidays”, or the holidays on which only governmental services close. Some of these holidays are nationwide while others are only for one of Belgium's communities.
