Parc de Bruxelles

Parc de Bruxelles Review

This was once a game park, but in the late 18th century it was tamed into rigid symmetry and laid out in the design of Masonic symbols. On warm days, joggers and strollers circle the park (the ornamental layout doesn't invite relaxing on the grass). The huge Palais du Roi occupies the entire south side of the park. It was built by Leopold II in the early 20th century on a scale corresponding to his megalomaniacal ambitions. In the palace, you can proceed into the vast throne room, lit by 11 chandeliers. Don't miss the ebony-and-jewel-encrusted piano in the Louis XV music salon or the dazzling Mirror Room, where floor-to-ceiling mirrors are interspersed with marble columns. The present monarch, King Albert II, comes here for state occasions, although he lives at the more private palace in Laeken.