show!
Choose other city guides
Parks and Gardens in Brussels
Brussels is a very green city. You'll find there many parks and gardens, so if you want to take a book and read outside or invite your family and friends for a picnic and playing sports, you'll definitely find a green area near you. Some of the biggest and most famous parks in this cosmopolitan city are Brussels Park, Jubilee Park, Leopold Park and Ixelles Ponds. There is plenty to see and do in all of them. You can walk or run, rent a canoe, visit greenhouses and palaces – you definitely won't be bored. Especially when the whether is good, after long hours in museums and galleries, take a moment to appreciate Brussels' outdoors as well!
|
Bois de la Cambre
|
Phone: +32 02 672 49 86
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
|
 see map
|
|
|
In the characteristic of Belgium style of double-naming, the largest urban park of Brussels is called Bois de la Cambre and Terkamerenbos in Dutch.. Although a bit removed from the central parts of the Belgian capital city Bois de la Cambre is annexed to the city and is linked to it by a large road, Avenue Louise lying between its northern entrance and its southern border. With the Soignes Forest the park takes up about 123 hectares or 242 acres. The terrain has many diverse features including a wonderful lake with an island, numerous shady trees that give it its forest image and vast lawns for enjoying a lazy afternoon. The serpentine pathways that criss-cross the park are a prefect route for a long walk, a bike-ride, a jog or even a horseback riding experience.
|
|
more
|
|
|
Brussels Park
|
Phone: +32 2 513 89 40
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
|
see map
|
|
|
Brussels Park is the green spot in the European city of the same name that one can hardly miss. And this is not only due to the freshness of this green facility in the very heart of Brussels but also the surrounding buildings with great historical and architectural value for the citizens. Parc de Bruxelles (Brussels Park) is limited by the busy Street of the Law (Rue de Loi) on the west and is an often-used metro station but as one strolls through it one finds out it’s worth much more than just a subway stop. Some of the renowned buildings that can be found near the place are the Royal Palace(which is why the park is often called Royal Park) and the Royal Theatre. The geometric layout of the Brussels Park creates the atmosphere of a well-kept and civilised natural patch in the busy parts of the city. The park is famous for the celebrations of the national holiday of Belgium on July 21.
|
|
more
|
|
|
Jubilee Park
|
Phone: +32 02 513 89 40
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
|
see map
|
|
|
Parc du Cinquantenaire (French) or Jubelpark (Dutch) is one of the most impressive green spaces in the capital of Belgium. This park is also one of the largest ones in the urban heart of Brussels with its 30 hectares of lawns, trees and alleys all in perfect symmetry. Also the architecture of the Palace, the main building on the spot is breath-taking with its imposing shape of a giant horse-shoe. One more advantage of Jubelpark, situated in the district Etterbeek, is that this is where the Independence Anniversary ceremonies are held. In fact, the very name of the park hails from the occasion of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary back in the 19th Century. Cinquantenaire means 'Fiftieth Anniversary' in French and Jubelpark in Dutch means 'The Jubilee Park'. Jubelpark is a loved spot for another reason as well – the annual 20-kilometre marathon starts here every year.
|
|
more
|
|
|
Leopoldpark
|
Phone: +32 02 513 89 40
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
|
see map
|
|
|
The European district of Brussels does have several green bijous (jewels) and the largest and most renowned among them is the Leopoldpark. Named after the first two kings of the new Belgian state it occupies about 10 hectares (25 acres) of the Maelbeek Valley bordering the Etterbeek community of the capital city. This green space is mostly famous for its numerous fine buildings including the European Parliament and the International Conference Centre as well as the old Solvay library and many other architectural achievements. The park also contains one of the last remaining ponds of the Maelbeek Valley fed by the Maelbeek stream (a river that crosses parts of Brussels and means 'the Mill stream' in Dutch and has its source near the Abbey de la Cambre). Leopold Park has conserved its character of an English landscaped park with its vast lawns shaded by groups of trees and is criss-crossed by winding paths that invite the visitor for a refreshing stroll.
|
|
more
|
|
|
La Cambre Abbey Garden
|
Phone: +32 2 513 89 40
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Abbey de la Cambre (also known as Chambre de Notre-Dame) is located in the south of the very centre of Brussels. The complex of the former Benedictine Abbey is placed in a small valley not far from the larger park Bois de la Cambre and encloses the springs of the Ixelles Ponds which are another of Brussels natural attractions. The estate also includes one of the finest gardens in the Belgian capital, an example of the “hanging gardens”.
|
|
more
|
|
|
Small Sablon Square
|
Phone: +32 2 513 89 40
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
|
see map
|
|
|
The Small Sablon Square (Place du Petit Sablon) might be called a square but it is rather serving as a park than of an urban open space. The function of an urban square with shops, restaurants and even a flea market in the weekends is attributed to the Large Sablon Square separated from the Small Sablon Square only by the building of the Notre Dame Church. The name Sablon can be translated as 'sand'. The garden that the Small Sablon features is of a very formal style with fine parterres, a pond and leafy trees.
|
|
more
|
|
|
Mont des Arts
|
Phone: +32 2 507 12 12
e-mail: info@opt.be
|
|
|
Website: http://www.montdesarts.be
|
see map
|
|
|
Just a couple of crossings away from one of the most spectacular parks in Brussels, the Brussels Park, there is another green space that embellishes the city. This is the formal garden Mont des Arts (French) or Kunstberg (Dutch) both words meaning 'Mount of the Arts' perfectly explaining a part of the attractions of the well-manicured wonderful garden. Created at the beginning of the 20th Century for the Universal Exposition that took place in the capital city of Belgium in 1910, the Mont des Arts garden is a real historical site.
|
|
more
|
|