750,000 dahlias, 170 volunteers, 6 hours.
That’s what it took to assemble Brussels’ biennial flower carpet in the Grand Place. It only lasts four days, once every two years. The flowers are primarily dahlias because they can withstand the summer heat without wilting better than many other kinds of flowers.
But let’s back up a bit. How did this tradition start? Landscape architect Etienne Statemash began creating smaller flower carpets in numerous locations, but in 1971 he and his team designed the first one for Brussels’ historic Grand Place. The first 22 editions of the Flower Carpet featured his beloved begonias. However, begonia production has become increasingly rare in Belgium, so the designers chose dahlias, another classic Belgian flower, which comes in a wide variety of colors and shapes. All of the flowers in the carpet are Belgian-grown.
This year’s flower carpet, the 24th edition, celebrates 160 years of Belgian-Japanese friendship. The image re-imagines the famous “Great Wave off Kanagawa” painting by Katsushikai Hokusai in flowers. It measures 70m (229′) x 24m (70′).
We wanted to see this magnificent artistic work, but we knew the best views would be from above, not at street level. My first attempt was to buy tickets to view the carpet from the tippy-top of Brussels’ 16th century city hall. That requires climbing 220 steps in an un-air conditioned building during the height of summer.
As I began to waffle, I learned that the American Club of Brussels was holding a private party on a third-floor (4th to Americans) location with a good view of the carpet. I decided to buy tickets for that event, too.
On Friday, we set off to view the carpet. I bailed on the City Hall viewing, but Shelly gamely climbed all 220 steps in the 98-degree (37C) heat. When she came down, she said her legs were shaking. Sadly, she said it wasn’t worth it. City Hall is tiered like a wedding cake, and the lower tiers interfered with her view of the flower carpet below.
After a brief stop to get some drinks, it was time for the American Club event. The doorway was a bit hidden, and then we were ushered into a dimly-lit all-black stairwell. After we climbed up to the third floor, we emerged into a pair of cheerful rooms with six windows overlooking the Grand Place. As some of the first arrivals, Shelly and I had unobstructed views of the carpet from each of the windows. This is the vantage point I used for most of the photos you see here. We later found out that the general public can view the flower carpet from the same location on other days for only 6 euros (the American Club event was much pricier than that). However, Shelly said this was definitely the place to be for a great view.
The Flower Carpet has been listed as part of the Iintangible Cultural Heritage of the Brussels-Capital region since 2020 and efforts are in progress to have UNESCO recognize it as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Aerial view of the flower carpet (photo by Visit Belgium).
Volunteers assembling the carpet on Thursday morning (photo by Visit Belgium)
This was our view from ground level. As we suspected, you don’t get a great view this way. City Hall is in the background.
Close-up of some of the flowers.
View from our 3rd-floor perch. When we were standing at street level, we were in the back right corner.
Shelly with the carpet below her.
Brussels City Hall. Shelly climbed to the very top
Literally, a bird’s eye view of the Grand Place.
A sculpture of a man looks down on the carpet.
A good view of the carpet. Just before we left Grand Place, we saw misters going off to keep the flowers watered in the intense heat.
This was where we viewed the carpet from.
We heard that there was a second, smaller flower carpet at the Bourse, but we circled the building and never found it. We didn’t realize that it was indoors. (photo by Visit Belgium)
The Flower Carpet event is held in even-numbered years on the weekend closest to August 15th. You can buy tickets to climb to the top of City Hall (we don’t recommend), the 2nd floor balcony of City Hall (better view, about 10 euros), or from the 3rd floor of the building that houses the Roy d’Espagne restaurant (go around to a side entrance to gain access, about 6 euros). Of course, you can also view it from ground level for free. And don’t forget to go INSIDE the nearby Bourse building to see another flower carpet. See you in 2028!