Kanal-Centre Pompidou museum to open in November 2026
The Kanal-Centre Pompidou museum in Brussels will officially open in November 2026, director Yves Goldstein announced on Tuesday during a press visit to the construction site.
Spanning 40,000 square metres, the museum in the former Citroën garage alongside the canal is set to become one of the largest in Europe. The contemporary and modern art museum will also feature a significant amount of freely accessible public space.
The museum will open to visitors on 28 November 2026. "Kanal will be a democratic, inclusive, participative and optimistic museum where everyone can find a place," said Goldstein. Rather than creating a "traditional museum", he wants to build one where more than half of the total area is accessible to the public.
The museum aims to become "an extension of the city", added Dieter Vanthournout, the museum's spokesperson. "The four access roads to Kanal will always be open to visitors who want to come here to study, read a book or have a drink," he said.
The total budget for the museum is estimated at around 230 million euros. "We want to keep the design of the museum as close as possible to the old Citroën garage, although certain things have been modified here and there, for example to accommodate Picasso's works, or for climatic reasons," said Vanthournout.
Construction works at Kanal-Centre Pompidou in Brussels, 20 May 2025 © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE / © BELGA VIDEO TIMON RAMBOER
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