Parc Josaphat Brussels – A bucolic haven of peace

One of my favorite green spaces in Brussels is this incredible park hidden deep within the neighborhood of Schaerbeek. It's quite far from the centre, so you're unlikely to find many tourists here, but they're really missing out. The park occupies a deep ravine between two areas of a higher ground and was laid out in 1904 in the free-flowing English style.

I have been here so many times but I keep discovering new things about the place, because it's so full of hidden charms. The park's drama comes from a clever use of the topography, so that sloping meadows lead down to two snaking ponds, filled with ducks and swans. It even houses a donkey sanctuary and is full of little bridges and statues. Concerts are sometimes held in the old-fashioned bandstand too.