Brussels & its Guitar Festival: a guitarist's travel guide
Brussels International Guitar Festival & Competition · Brussels, Belgium
Brussels sits at the crossroads of Europe, and its international guitar festival has quietly become one of the continent's most engaging, built around competitions that honour Nicolas and Ilse Alfonso, founders of the Belgian guitar school. With the Eurostar network on its doorstep, it is one of the easiest guitar trips to reach and a rewarding city to explore between concerts.
Getting there
Brussels-Midi is a high-speed hub, around an hour and twenty minutes from Paris, under two hours from Amsterdam, and less than two from London by Eurostar. Brussels airport (BRU) is a short train ride from the centre.
Compare trains, buses & flights to Brussels on Omio →
Where to stay
Stay near the centre, within reach of the Grand-Place and the conservatoire that hosts part of the festival, and you can walk to most of it. Brussels is compact and well-connected, easy to combine with a wider trip through the Low Countries.
An interactive map of hotels, apartments and B&Bs across Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and more, centred on Brussels.
See stays in Brussels →What you'll hear
The festival is built around two competitions, one for performers and one for composers, so new music sits alongside the standard repertoire. Evenings bring recitals by invited artists and prizewinners, with masterclasses and an exhibition by day. It is a friendly, well-run event that punches above its size.
If you play as well as listen, explore Django Reinhardt, born in Belgium on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
Belgian cooking is a treat: moules-frites, carbonnade flamande stewed in beer, and waffles from a street stand, with the country's famous chocolate and pralines to follow. The beer list alone can occupy an evening.
While you're there
The medieval canal city of Bruges is about an hour away by train, and Ghent, with its castle and old centre, is closer still at half an hour. Both make effortless day trips from the capital. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: bigfest.be.