Botanique is the name of the Botanical Garden of Brussels (or, in French, Jardin Botanique de Bruxelles) in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels’ Northern Quarter financial district. The main building is now a cultural complex and music venue known as Le Botanique. It can be accessed from Botanique metro station on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels Metro.

This superb site is the perfect example of Brussels’ multicultural identity: an English-style façade on the boulevard, an Italian garden in the centre and French baroque buildings including a rotunda, complete with a dome and columns, an orangery and two large lateral greenhouses. The Botanical Garden is now an urban park located in between the roads of Brussels’ northern quarter. Thanks to its previous life as a working botanical garden, it has kept a mixture of styles (French, Italian and English) and a large variety of trees and plants. Stretching over more than 6 ha, this terraced park was inaugurated in 1829.

I am personally still blown away by the beauty of these gardens every time I visit them. They make you think you’re in a whole other country while you’re still in Brussels. They also make for a very calm and chill place to hang out with friends on a sunny day. The park is way more quiet and calm than you might think with the big roads surrounding it.