I’m always surprised to discover that Brussels has hundreds of small parks, hidden behind buildings, or around the corner of a busy street. Even locals do not know them, as the entrance is often a small door, with an opening timetable posted on it.

The other day I saw a gate and a sign “Parc Public, entree libre 09:00 – 18:00″. As a Brussels Spotter I can’t miss out on this! And… what a surprise. Nobody around, and music coming from a workshop nearby.

Quietness, this is the feeling I got from this Park. You need to think? You need to relax after walking around and shopping in Matonge (see the Matonge article)? This is the place to go!

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Parc Viaduc | Relaxing | Free
Entrance from Rue du Viaduc 131B | Ixelles
09:00 – 18:30 daily

It’s quiet, it’s small, it’s hidden in between place Jourdan, the Parliament and rue Belliard. It has a pond, a few nice buildings, a long history, a few paths to walk around it, benches to rest and nobody will complain if you lay down with your picnic basket (as long as you take your trash home!).

It was created as zoological garden back in 1851, and at that time even giraffes were living there. Now you can see rare trees and animals, students passing by (there’s a high school, a bit falling apart I’ve been told, but it still fascinates me) and the Solvay Library which is now a conference centre.

Up the hill you can play basketball, and in winter I’ve seen the pond completely frozen… poor swans living there!

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Parc Leopold | Relaxing
Rue Belliard 133 | Etterbeek/ Eur.Qt
24 hours daily

The best way to start your visit in Brussels is by going to Place Poelaert. This place gives a good overview of Brussels. It is especially nice to visit during sunrise or sunset.

You can see all of Brussels buildings in a wonderful panorama. There are binoculars to view the buildings in detail and there is a lift that takes you to the Marolles. You can also walk down following the parking space of the adjacent Palais de Justice.

You can sit on the stone fence to admire the view. On your right there is a beautiful art deco building functioning as a high school and on the left there is the Palais de Justice. Right in front of Place Poelaert is Avenue Louise, following this avenue completely to the end, or taking a tram, will bring you to Bois de la Cambre, a large ‘park’ with a lake (see the Bois de la Cambre article).

The whole area is worthwhile to walk around in and to discover at your own pace and interests.

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Place Poelaert | Art & culture, Relaxing
Place Poelaert | Ixelles
Daily

A variety of flowers, plants and trees decorate this spacious garden. There is a little lake and a labyrinth of bushes for you to get quiet and inhale a little piece of paradise.

This small patch of bliss lies between a major four lane traffic road which makes the opposition nature versus construction even more apparent. Still, wandering there makes you forget the stressed out people caught there in traffic. The whole park is built on a steep hill, there are entrances to it at various places.

When the Botanique was built it was a major scientific research temple with a very large variety of exotic plants, flowers and trees. To acquire money for maintenance they used to sell vegetables and other crops from the garden. At this place they created Belgian endive.

At present times the Botanique serves as a known cultural venue. It has different concert halls, exposition rooms and a museum. There is also a large bar and restaurant with a splendid terrace from where you have an amazing view of the botanical garden. They serve great lunches and dinner. The expositions held there are open from twelve until eight.

Their concert programming is worth checking out and during `Les nuits Botanique’ large crowds gather there to see indoor and outdoor concerts from a large variety of groups.

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Botanique | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Relaxing
Entrance Koningsstraat 236 | Center | +3222183732
10:00 – 18:00 daily

Sitting at place Sainte Catherine is well recommended when you have time to spare. This large lane with banks surrounding fountains starting at the fish restaurants and continuing up to a green patch with trees.

All sorts of unusual things happen around this place. Next to touristic fish restaurants there is an ice cream vendor, an African restaurant and several night shops. The statues round the fountain picture fish and several reptiles.

You can sit there for hours talking, watching and enjoying the changing city scenery. The place is a welcome change from the rest of the noisy areas in the center. This is a nice place to visit when you want to just sit down, enjoy a long conversation, watch the people passing by or getting to know large groups of friends.

You can also find some good fish restaurants there. Spend some time in this area to get acquainted with Brussels calm life.

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Place Sainte Catherine | Relaxing
Place Sainte Catherine | Center
24 hours daily

The Sonian forest is a large forest surrounded by the Brussels communities and with traffic lanes going through it. These threats to a nature site have already caused a lot of damage. Still, a lot of energy is put in maintaining this forest as it is of immense significance to keep the lungs of Brussels alive and functioning.

You can enjoy this forest by walking, cycling or horse back riding. It is the home of various mammals (bats, deers), reptiles and birds. Next to this you’ll find plants, trees and several flowers and mushrooms. Their quantity is declining..

This forest has a rich history as a royal hunting place, fortunately this became forbidden in the 1970′s. The forest is mostly used for recreational and educational activities. During weekends the forest gets crowded by families and cyclists where as during the week you can walk for hours without seeing a soul.

Since this forest can be entered via it’s surroundings it is impossible for me to tell you how you should get there, it really depends on your departure point. If you are in the center you can take bus 95.

It is actually not too far to go there by bike, just head for watermaal bosvoorde and find a park entrance.

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The Sonian Forest | Relaxing
Sonian Forest | The South | +32206268694
24 hours daily

Don’t forget to bring your bathing suit when visiting. This city has a lot of Art Deco swimming pools. One of them is situated in Saint Gilles. It was built round 1904 and definitely radiates a luxurious charm.

You enter through large wooden swinging doors and arrive in a grand opening hall with cafetaria. Above the pool there is a roof entirely made of glass to enlighten your swimming time. Definitely worth a visit and enjoy.

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Victor Boin Sint Gillis | Relaxing | Entrance € 3.00
Wipstraat 38, Saint-Gilles | The South | +3225390615
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 19:00

In the middle of the Marolles on the border of Het Vossenplein you can find this cosy bar. Sit on the terrace, enjoy the sun &  try one of their great beers while you are watching the flea market activity.

On every Thursday evening from 20:00 to 00:00 Chaff is the epicenter of the Brussels board games world. Dozens of people gather together. The concept is simple: go sit at a table and you wait for one of the sympathetic organising dudes to pass by, you pay 3 euro and in return you can a name tag and you can choose from dozens of often less known but fun games. The organizers can help you choose the games depending on your preferences, well known or less known, with a lot of strategy or based on a lot of luck, speed or concentration and group size.

If you’re looking for game companions or when you think it’s fun to meet new people the tables might get mixed and you end your evening playing with complete strangers. Too lazy to read the game rules (or game rules in another language)? No need to worry, you get an almost professional live explanation of everything you need to know. 

Oh yeah, before I forget to tell you, they have great food too ;)

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Chaff | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Restaurants | Boardgame evening € 3
Vossenplein 21 | Center | +3225025848
08:30 – 00:00 daily (closed Mon evening & Sun lunchtime)

One of my favorite ways to relax is seeing how others tire themselves. Especially when they do it in a spectacular way.

Take your drinks with you and climb the steps of the skate-ramp. There you can sit and relax on the bench, enjoying the sun while the youth is giving away a free stunt show, right at the place where the trains disappear a few meters below into the Brussels underground.

Looking for some action? Bring your own skateboard or bmx and be an acrobat yourself. The place is free and accessible to everyone.

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Skatepark | Relaxing | Free
Ursulinenplein | Center
Daily

This park cannot be compared to Central Park or Hide Park, but the Bois de La Cambre (Ter Cameren in Flemish) is the preferred spot for Bruxellers on a sunny day.

It has a pond, a closed street for rollerbladers, and plenty of paths to get lost in. Lots of joggers run along its sidewalks, a full lap is about 5kms, especially on Sundays when it’s closed to vehicles.

But there is more to this park than a spot to have a picnic. There is the ice cream van or the restaurant in the middle of the pond (Chalet Robinson) that can only be reached with its small ferry and from where you can rent a small boat to cruise the lake (april to October).

A bit further away you reach “La Patinoire“, another restaurant offering a skating rink (open Wednesday and weekends if the weather is good) and pony riding (weekends).

And if you stay long enough in the evening, don’t miss the parties at Jeux d’Hiver and The Wood.

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Bois de La Cambre | Bars, Relaxing | Free
End of Avenue Louise | The South
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 20:00, Sun 12:00 – 20:00