Wallonia offers free access to 160 museums every first Sunday

A total of 160 museums in Wallonia and Brussels will be open to the public free of charge every first Sunday of the month during the 2023-2024 season. Of these, 33 will also be free on the other days of the week. This was reported by the organisation Arts & Publics on Wednesday.

At the beginning of 2013, the government of Belgium's French-speaking Community introduced a decree establishing free access to museums on the first Sunday of every month. Initially, 50 institutions took part. This number has steadily increased: today, there are 160 participating museums. Of these, 90 are obliged by the decree to offer free admission, while the other 70 are taking part voluntarily.

The most participating museums are in Hainaut, which has 50 participants, followed by Brussels with 32 museums, two gardens and one permanent exhibition.

Free admission is - in theory - limited to permanent exhibitions, but the majority of museums also grant free access to temporary spaces and collections.

^{© BELGA PHOTO JESSICA DEFGNEE}