Design Museum Gent Reopens Oct 3 With Free Entry October 3–4

Design Museum Gent in Belgium reopens on Saturday, October 3, 2026, after four years closed for renovation and expansion, with free museum entry on opening weekend, October 3 and 4. The museum’s reopening information distinguishes that weekend from the free city festival, which continues through October 11. From October 5, standard admission to the collection and temporary exhibition is €15.

If you are in Ghent or planning a Belgium city break in early October, the opening weekend is the cheapest and liveliest time to see the new museum. The rest of the program sits inside Design Fest Gent, which the museum links from the same page.

Design Museum Gent Reopens October 3

The museum has been closed for four years while it was renovated and extended with a new wing, Finestre sull’Arte reported on September 21. The magazine said the new wing is by the British firm Carmody Groarke with the Belgian practices ATAMA and RE-ST.

“This expansion and renovation are not simply aimed at creating more museum space, but something that goes beyond the museum: a place where the community can collectively process and interpret reality,” director Katrien Laporte said, according to the magazine.

The new facade uses what the magazine called Gent Waste Brick: more than 82,000 locally made bricks produced from municipal waste and hardened by lime curing rather than firing in a kiln.

Free Museum Entry on Opening Weekend

The city festival runs from October 3 to 11, but free admission to the museum’s collection and temporary exhibition is limited to October 3 and 4. Its program lists a pre-party on October 2 and 3 with exhibitions and performances, a Design Makersmarkt on October 4 featuring 60 local makers, and a brunch the same day with Studio CoPain and Ghent bakers.

From October 5, standard admission to the collection and temporary exhibition is €15. The Loft, Studio Digital and Vitrine remain free to visit, and the city festival remains free through October 11. Brunch, yoga and Pilates cost extra. Some workshops require registration, so check the program for prices and booking rules before you go.

Exhibitions in the New Museum

The collection holds more than 24,000 objects, and about 500 of them appear in the new collection display, according to Finestre sull’Arte. The opening exhibitions it listed are:

• Collection. Models from the Past for the Future, curated by Evelien Bracke.
• Public Matter(s): Design and Democracy, curated by Amelie Klein and Vera Sacchetti.
• CO-LAB, curated by Siegrid Demyttenaere.
• Searcher, an AI installation that explores links across the collection.

Together they make the reopening more than a return of the old galleries. For design fans, the opening week offers the new wing, the reworked collection and the festival program in one visit.

Planning a Ghent Visit in Early October

The opening weekend of October 3 and 4 packs the most into two days: the pre-party, the Design Makersmarkt, the brunch and the free exhibitions. For free museum entry, choose October 3 or 4. If the galleries matter more to you than the events, a weekday between October 5 and 9 has fewer competing activities, but standard museum admission is €15 from October 5.

Because the festival is tied to Design Fest Gent, the museum is not the only venue with design events that week. The museum links the full Design Fest Gent program from its reopening page, which is the place to check before you plan a day around the city.

If you cannot make the festival, there is no rush. The reopening is permanent, and the new wing and collection display will stay. For a later visit, budget €15 for standard admission and check the museum’s opening hours and any registration rules before the day you plan to go.