Mini-Europe to reopen on 29 March
With its future now assured, the Mini-Europe model village that contains scale models of some of our continent’s most famous sites is ready to reopen in two weeks’ time. 2021 will be the attraction at Heizel site in Brussels’ 32nd season. This year those that run Mini-Europe hope to convince more domestic tourists and day-trippers to pay it a visit. It is hoped that this will go some way to making up for a disastrous 2020.
The lockdown and a huge reduction in the number of foreign tourists had a big impact on Mini-Europe. During 2020 visitor numbers were down by 84% compared with the previous year. With travel restrictions still in place and the coronavirus pandemic far from over foreign tourist aren’t likely to visit Brussels in great numbers any time soon. Consequently, Mini-Europe hopes to attract more visitors from within Belgium.
The attraction’s Director Thierry Meeus told the Brussels regional news platform Bruzz that "In a typical year domestic visitors represent around a third of our visitors. In 2020, a particularly difficult year, we saw a slight increase in the number of Belgian visitors to our park. We believe that there is the potential to increase this still further”.
Thanks to a long-term agreement between Mini-Europe and the City of Brussels the future of the attraction is now assured. Given that it is open air it is can also be visited safely. Mr Meeus says that it offers an ideal alternative and a welcome change from walks at the seaside or in the Ardennes.
From the end of June there will be two new features at the park. European enlightenment will be portrayed by a reconstruction of life in the English city of Bath in the 18th century. Meanwhile, those of us that are missing being able to go to Paris will be able to enjoy a renovated model of the Place de l’Etoile with the world-famous Arc de Triomphe.