BANAD FESTIVAL
An Art Nouveau interlude at the heart of the festival
AT DE ULTIEME HALLUCINATIE, ART NOUVEAU IS AS MUCH TO BE SAVOURED AS IT IS TO BE CONTEMPLATED…
Every spring, Brussels opens the doors to some of its most beautiful buildings. The BANAD Festival invites visitors to explore Art Nouveau and Art Deco venues that are usually closed to the public. Over three weekends, the city reveals itself in a new light, through its interiors, staircases, stained-glass windows and salons. During the final weekend, on 28 and 29 March, guided tours will be organised at De Ultieme Hallucinatie, and the brasserie will exceptionally open its doors on Sunday. As a festival partner, the venue will also welcome visitors on Saturday for a drink or a meal. Because at De Ultieme Hallucinatie, Art Nouveau is as much to be savoured as it is to be admired…
Three weekends offering a behind-the-scenes look at Brussels’ architecture
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Behind the acronym BANAD lies the Brussels Art Nouveau Art Deco Festival, an event that has become a must for anyone who likes to see Brussels from a different perspective than just from the pavement.
Over three weekends in March, the festival opens up around sixty buildings across the Brussels region. Particulier hotels, architects’ homes, schools and public buildings: all places whose interiors usually remain hidden from view. BANAD therefore offers a rare opportunity to step inside and discover the spaces where architecture truly reveals itself.
The 2026 edition, the tenth, reflects the full richness of Brussels’ heritage. Just over half of the venues are Art Nouveau, around a third Art Deco, and a few modernist buildings complete the itinerary. Together, they tell the story of a period when Brussels was inventing a bold style, characterised by curved lines, elegant ironwork, mosaics and light.
But BANAD is not just a series of tours. The festival also offers guided walks through the neighbourhoods, walking and cycling tours, talks and a range of cultural activities. It’s a way to rediscover the city by taking the time to observe the façades, the architectural details and those subtle signatures left by the architects of yesteryear.
And because exploring the city sometimes makes you want to take a break, BANAD also works with several partner venues - bars, restaurants and brasseries housed in historic buildings - where you can extend the experience over a drink or a meal.
A BANAD weekend at L’Ultieme: guided tours and special Sunday opening
Among these partner venues is De Ultieme Hallucinatie, housed in the former Hôtel Cohn-Donnay on Rue Royale. As every year, the brasserie is taking part in the festival as a partner Art Nouveau venue where visitors can stop off, enjoy a meal or simply catch their breath between visits.
The building itself is part of the programme for the festival’s final weekend, on 28 and 29 March. Guided tours will offer the chance to explore this 19th-century mansion, which was transformed in the early 20th century in the Art Nouveau style. Behind the façade lie elegant salons, spacious rooms and an atmosphere that, in its own way, tells a fragment of Brussels’ architectural history.
Throughout the festival, L’Ultieme Hallucinatie serves as a stop-off for visitors to the BANAD. At L’Ultieme, architecture is not merely to be admired: it is to be experienced, whether over a meal or a drink.
To complement the guided tours taking place in the building, the Ultieme Hallucinatie brasserie will be open exceptionally on Sunday 29 March. This special opening will allow architecture enthusiasts and Sunday strollers alike to extend their exploration of the venue.
Whether for a coffee, a meal or simply the pleasure of lingering in a setting where the history of Brussels lives on, the Ultieme Hallucinatie offers the perfect stop-off between festival visits. All you have to do is step inside…