The Fêtes de Wallonie is the September get-together that reminds everyone that Wallonia has a history, a pride and a shared love of celebrating together. In La Louvière, as in other Walloon towns, this means crowded streets in the town centre, entertainment, and terraces that never seem to empty out. For those who have never experienced it: this isn’t an event run by a single organiser, but a period when the whole town falls into step. We’d recommend following the official channels of the Ville de La Louvière for this year’s exact programme — dates, entertainment, timings — as things change from one edition to the next.
What to know before heading out to eat
The Fêtes de Wallonie take place in September. The precise programme — concerts, markets, street entertainment — is decided and communicated by the Town, and we don’t have a dated calendar to pass on to you. What we do know, however, is what this means for a restaurant in the town centre: footfall that picks up from midday onwards and doesn’t let up until late evening, especially at weekends.
In practical terms, if you’re looking for where to eat during the Fêtes de Wallonie, keep two things in mind: the usual lunch and dinner slots fill up fast, and tables without a booking become scarce past a certain point. We can’t give you a figure for how busy the town gets, but experience from previous years has taught us to keep a close eye from the moment September begins.
The time slot where we can still seat you
If you’d like to eat in peace without queuing, two options stand out. The first: come at the start of service, right when we open — midday at 12:00 or evening at 18:00 — before the rush sets in. The second: shift your visit slightly away from the peak of the event, either late afternoon or just after 20:30, once the first evening sitting has already turned over.
We’re open seven days a week except Tuesdays, with lunch service from 12:00 to 14:30 and dinner service from 18:00 to 22:30. During the Fêtes de Wallonie, we keep to this schedule, but we strongly advise calling ahead if you’re coming as a group or planning a weekend evening: it’s the time of year when tables go fastest. For those who’d rather have a wood-fired pizza without standing around waiting, takeaway or delivery remains a solid option — we cover this on our delivery and takeaway page.
If your group is larger than a standard table, our dining room can also be hired exclusively for up to 42 guests — a way of being seated without relying on the pace of the main room on a busy evening. Details are on our private hire page.
How to get here without wasting time
We’re located at Rue de la Loi 40, 350 metres from La Louvière-Centre station. If you’re arriving by train during the Fêtes de Wallonie, this is by far the simplest route: a five-minute walk, with no need to worry about parking, which becomes tricky in the town centre once the crowds build up.
For those walking from the historic centre, we’re also five minutes from the Musée Ianchelevici, an easy landmark to remember if you don’t know the area yet. And if you’d like to take the opportunity to see something other than the festivities, the Strépy-Thieu and Canal du Centre hydraulic boat lifts, listed as UNESCO World Heritage, are nearby — a walk that offers a change from the noise of the square, before or after your meal.
And if you’re looking for a Plan B for another September event
September in La Louvière isn’t always about the Fêtes de Wallonie. In some years, the town also hosts Décrocher la Lune, though this event only takes place every three years, on Place Maugretout — it’s neither annual nor systematically timed to coincide with the Fêtes de Wallonie. If you’re after a table specifically before or after this particular event, we’ve written a dedicated article: where to eat before Décrocher la Lune in La Louvière. And for an overview of the whole events calendar in La Louvière, the La Louvière 2026 events calendar remains the most comprehensive resource we’ve published.
Booking your table for the Fêtes de Wallonie
We don’t take bookings via an online form: a phone call or an email is all it takes, and it’s often quicker and more reliable for securing your table. During this period in September, we recommend calling a few days ahead if there are several of you, especially for a Friday or Saturday evening. For larger groups who’d like to settle in without worrying about the crowds outside, hiring our dining room exclusively, for up to 42 guests, is well worth considering.
To book, or simply to check we have space at a time that suits you, our contact details for booking your table page has our phone number and email address. A quick call before you arrive means you avoid waiting on the pavement while the town celebrates around you. We always prefer a direct call: it allows us to adjust service according to how busy the day actually is, something no online form can anticipate during the Fêtes de Wallonie.
