Car-free Sunday offers pedestrians a daylong treat

Non-essential traffic is banned from many towns and cities on 17 September for Car-Free Sunday, with a wide variety of events planned to help people to enjoy the streets. These range from concerts and street parties to initiatives encouraging cycling, walking and other sustainable forms of transport.

Bruges has a particularly impressive programme this year, including the opening of a new visitors’ circuit at the Concertgebouw. This offers people a new way to explore the striking architecture of the performance hall and its collection of visual and acoustic art works. The opening day also features musical performances and workshops for the whole family.

Other events in Bruges include a 5km run through the historic centre, walking and cycling routes of various lengths and a wheelchair obstacle course. There are concerts, art events, a festival of mussels and oysters (on Vismarkt, of course) and dancing in the street.

Antwerp’s car-free Sunday features a mobility market and car-sharing salon, exploring ways to travel more sustainably. There are also walking routes through the city, food stalls and concerts.

Ghent has similar attractions, plus the novelty of a car-free fly-over. For just one day, the B401 viaduct in the Zuid neighbourhood will be turned over to pedestrians and cyclists.

Brussels meanwhile has bike circuses at Place de la Monnaie and locations in Laeken and Neder-Over-Heembeek; a countryside festival and the BeChill music festival on at Place des Palais and Royal Park; and street sports on the city-centre pedestrian zone.

Among the smaller towns, Dendermonde stands out for the Boulevart festival of circus and street theatre, with around 20 acts appearing at locations around town. As well as acrobatics and clowning, there are more bizarre entries, such as Wasman, who walks the streets washing people’s hands, and the Sonate Jheronimo, whose massive instruments ride the river (pictured).