Parks and green spaces

Green space is distributed unequally around the Brussels-Capital Region. 70 % of them are in the outer suburbs, while only 10 % is found in the city centre. But you will always find the ideal place for a walk, a jog or some downtime.

Where to go when you want to go green

Parc Royal between the Belgian Parliament and the Royal palace (Parc metro station) is the green centre of the city. Not too far away, you can also take a stroll around the Botanical Garden, Parc Egmont – a real hidden gem – and the gardens of Mont des Arts or Petit Sablon.

The green lung of the Brussels-Capital Region is undoubtedly the Forêt de Soignes (FR/NL) (Hermann-Debroux metro station), also sometimes called the Sonian Forest in English. It is the ideal way of enjoying nature without leaving the city. There are plenty more parks and woodlands around the capital – too many to name here.

• The Brussels-Capital Region runs a website devoted to public parks and gardens in Brussels (FR/NL), sorted by theme, keyword and location.
• Bruxelles Environnement (FR/NL) (IBGE) has pinpointed all public green spaces in Brussels on an interactive map, with information on walks and public transport in the neighbourhood.

The following destinations are certainly worth a visit:

• Parc du Cinquantenaire with the triumph arch in the background (Mérode or Schuman metro stations)
• Parc Léopold behind the European Parliament in the EU district (Maelbeek metro station)
• Bois de la Cambre, which is partly closed to motorised traffic at the weekends to allow walkers, cyclists and skaters to explore it in peace (trams 23, 24 and 94 – get off at Legrand or La Cambre-Étoile)
• Parc de la Woluwe, hilly and with ponds (trams 39 and 44 – get off at Chien vert) or perhaps you prefer the the Ixelles lakes in the art deco neighbourhood (bus 71 – get off at Étangs d'Ixelles, trams 81 and 83 – get off at Flagey)
• Continue a little farther after Parc de la Woluwe, to just outside of Brussels, Parc de Tervueren, which houses the Royal Museum for Central Africa (tram 44 – get off at the Tervuren Station terminus)
• The large part next to the Palace of Laeken and the Atomium (Heysel metro)
• Or take a trip to the art deco Van Buuren gardens and museum, with maze and Jardin du cœur (tram 92 – get off at Vanderkindere, trams 3, 23 and 24 – get off at Churchill).