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Where to go in December / Belgium in December / Brussels / December

Belgium · City

Brussels
in December.

Illustration of Mont des Arts garden axis toward Brussels Town Hall
Mont des Arts, BrusselsDestination view, not month-specific.

Is December a good time?

Temperature unit

Cool days.
A steady visitor season.

December averages 47°F afternoons, with about 14 rain days.

Afternoons
47°F
Rain days
14
Visitor demand
98%of July peak

Historical Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day.

Overall match

5.1/10 · scores & priorities

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

#12 of 12 months here · Balanced mix

Weather4.5/10Fair
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queues
CostExpensivefor Europe; Belgium-wide price level

Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.

Plan your December

What to expect.

What should I pack?

Afternoons around 47°F (9°C): a warm coat; nights around 37°F (3°C): a winter coat, hat and gloves. Bring rain gear: about 14 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 8 hours of daylight.

A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights & daylight Show detailsHide details

About 8 hours of daylight.

Sunrise 08:38Sunset 16:3737°F47°F00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00

The sun rises about 08:38 and sets about 16:37 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 37°F (3°C); afternoons reach about 47°F (9°C). Expect rain on about 14 days in a typical December.

Typical afternoon
47°F (9°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Decembers
Night low
37°F (3°C)
average daily minimum
Daylight
7h 59m
on the 15th, computed from latitude

Early, middle or late?

Early or late December?

Early and late December have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 47°F on the 1st, versus 47°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency rises from 41% to 47% between those dates.

Early December 1 December

47°F

Typical afternoon high

41% historical wet-day frequency

Mid December 15 December

48°F

Typical afternoon high

44% historical wet-day frequency

Late December 31 December

47°F

Typical afternoon high

47% historical wet-day frequency

Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.

Public holidays · 2026: 25 Dec Christmas Day.

Daily calendar & holiday datesDecember 2026 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar

December 2026 calendar

Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2026.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
147°247°347°446°546°646°
746°846°946°1047°1147°1247°1347°
1448°1548°1648°1748°1848°1949°2049°
2149°2249°2349°2449°2549°2649°2748°
2848°2948°3048°3147°

Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event

Afternoons warm from about 46°F (8°C) in the first week to 48°F (9°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 41–51%. Local schools are out 21–31 December 2026.

Some schools here are off between 21 and 31 December 2026 (winter holidays); the dates differ across the region. Public holidays: 25 Dec Christmas Day. Elsewhere in December 2026, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 39%, Germany 29%, Italy 35%, Spain 32%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Crowds and cost

Visitor season

Will it be busy?

Steady all year. December averages 98% of July's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.

Overnight stays across Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights.

Hotel price season

Will it be cheaper?

A little above usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.

Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.

Belgium as a whole
Above EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 124 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.

Year-to-year variation

How much does December vary?

Across the recorded years

In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 45°F (7°C) and 54°F (12°C); in 13 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 47°F (9°C). Rain days ranged from 6 to 22; half the years had 11–17.

Rain days in each December

Historical rain days; exact figures in the table below. 2011: 22 rain days2220112012: 20 rain days202013: 10 rain days102014: 11 rain days112015: 11 rain days112016: 6 rain days62017: 14 rain days142018: 15 rain days152019: 17 rain days172020: 15 rain days152021: 17 rain days172022: 14 rain days142023: 16 rain days162024: 12 rain days122025: 6 rain days62025
Rain days
14
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 19 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
2 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no December in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
1 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded DecemberHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
Historical monthly averages, not daily extremes.
YearAfternoon highRain days
201147°F22
201246°F20
201348°F10
201445°F11
201554°F11
201647°F6
201746°F14
201848°F15
201948°F17
202047°F15
202147°F17
202245°F14
202349°F16
202447°F12
202549°F6

Checked against official climate averages for Uccle. How we check

Compare dates

November, December
or January?

Historical regional averages. Overnight demand vs July peak, measured as average stays per day.
Typical conditionsNovDecJan
Afternoons52°F47°F45°F
Rain days121413
Overnight demand91%98%68%

November: Warmer afternoons and fewer rain days than December. November guide →

January: Cooler afternoons than December. January guide →

Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.

Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with December Show comparisonHide comparison

Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. December stays as your reference.

Hotel stays vary little through the year. March to October have a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than December.

Your comparison

December or November?

Overnight stays vary little through the year.

National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest about usual. No measured regional room rate is available.

Read the November guide →
December compared with another month
Typical conditionsDecemberNovember
Afternoons47°F52°F
Nights37°F40°F
Rain days1412
Visitor seasonSteady all yearSteady all year
Overall / 105.15.7
Month rank#12#9
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
All 12 months. Scores and ranks follow your priorities. Explore the whole year.
MonthOverallRankHighLowRain daysWeatherVisitor season
January5.2#1145°F34°F134.2Steady all year
February5.5#1048°F34°F114.9Steady all year
March6.1#854°F36°F106.0Steady all year
April6.7#661°F40°F77.4Steady all year
May7.1#567°F46°F98.2Steady all year
June7.3#473°F52°F98.7Steady all year
July7.4#176°F55°F119.0Steady all year
August7.4#276°F55°F99.0Steady all year
September7.3#370°F51°F88.8Steady all year
October6.5#762°F47°F126.9Steady all year
November5.7#952°F40°F125.4Steady all year
December5.1#1247°F37°F144.5Steady all year

Near here

Nearby places in December

Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.

Elsewhere in Europe

Better December weather than Brussels

Brussels' weather ranks 20 of 41 city regions this month. These city regions outside Belgium have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Brussels.

All of Belgium in December · Everywhere in December

How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details

Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 98% of the busiest and about average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are.The figures cover the whole Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest region, suburbs included. That means about 22,000 overnight visitors on a typical December night across the region, 21% of them from Belgium itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 7,000 more: 32 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.

Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100)57
How our weather was checkedOfficial climate averages for Uccle from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.3°C), night lows within 2°F (1.0°C).
Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day17
Busiest month hereJuly · 17
Visitors as share of people present1.7%
Rank among Europe's regions this month84th percentile
Domestic share of nights21%
Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights32
Visitor share if every platform night were extra2.2%
National hotel-price seasonBelgium historical 2024–2025 index: About usual (+3% vs its average month). Not a local room quote.
Population used1.3 million
Statistical regionBE10 · Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest

Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.