Flower power : 7 places to watch flowers bloom this spring

By Charlotte Deprez Published 16/04/2019

It’s spring, and who says spring says long weekends, flowers and sun! To make the most of what this season has to offer, we listed some of the most beautiful places  to see spring springing and flowers blooming in Belgium and Holland!

Floralia

From April 6 to May 5, the magnificent park of the castle of Grand-Bigard is adorned with thousands of flowers. Hyacinths, narcissus but above all more than 400 varieties of tulips cover the castle’s park, and it’s a real treat for the eyes!

In addition to the park, the huge (1000 square meters!) greenhouses of the castle house more than 150 floral compositions. Floralia is thefloral exhibition not to be missed this spring!

Isidoor van Beverenstraat 5, 1702 Dilbeek. From April 6 to May 5, 2019 from 10:00 to 18:00. 12€ for adults, 5€ for 6-14 and free under 6 years. More info on floralia-brussels.be.

The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

As every year since 1 century, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken open their doors to the public for three weeks! A unique opportunity to discover their amazing collection of flowers and plants, but also the beautiful architecture of the place, designed in the purest Art Nouveau style by Alphonse Balat in the 1870s.

For beauty lovers (well, who isn’t?), this is the place to go for a walk and take beautiful pictures. And for the hardcore fans of flowers and plants, the Royal Greenhouses are home to rare varieties but also original local and exotic plantations, planted in the time of Leopold II!

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DAY VISIT Royal Greenhouses of Laeken Open in 2019: April 19 to May 10 Beautiful park, greenhouses and a variety of plants: palm trees, flowers, mandarine trees 🙂 Everything is in blossom! Entrance is only 2.50 eur per person. The line for entrance might seem long at first, but moves quite fast. They have day and evening visits possible https://www.monarchie.be/fr/agenda/ouverture-des-serres-royales-de-laeken-2019 #brussels #japanesegarden #travel #nature #travelgram #wanderlust #photography #travelphotography #trip #vacation #travelblogger #instatravel #traveller #instagood #holiday #love #igers #travelling #explore #landscape #beautifuldestinations #photooftheday #picoftheday #beautiful #roadtriproutes

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Avenue du Parc Royal, 1020 Brussels, from April 19th to May 10th, 2019. 2.50€ per person, free for children under 18 years old. Info and schedules on monarchie.be.

Bois de Silly

In the Hainaut, between Ath and Enghien, the Bois de Silly is waaay less touristic than the Hallerbos, but it also turns into an enchanted purple forest thanks to the flowering of its wild hyacinths in the spring. 

And there’s more! In addition to the gorgeous bluebells, walkers can also admire the anemones and wild garlic beautiful white flowers covering the ground.

Bois de Silly, 7830 Silly.

Hallerbos

The Hallerbos, is one of the most Instagrammed places in Belgium, and for a good reason : in April and May every year, thousands of wild hyacinths turn the forest into a beautiful ocean of purple. This rare natural phenomenon is located just a few kilometers outside Brussels. 

As mentioned, it’s super instagrammable. And who says instagrammable says crowds. So if you go, try to prioritize week days to get a chance to have the wood (almost) just for you! Also worth mentioning, this year, from April 13 and for three weekends, De Lijn will offer a free bus service between Hal station and the Hallerbos. Yay, even more people.

Hallerbos, Hogebermweg, 1500 Halle. Flowering between April and May, more info on hallerbos.be.

The Brakelbos

In the Flemish Ardennes, near the linguistic border, you’ll find the Brakelbos, a huge beech forest that features, every spring, the same natural phenomenon as the Hallerbos!  The woods also turn into a purple maze… Without the tourists. What makes this place especially aesthetic is the type of trees : the beeches are usually very tall and straight, giving the forest gorgeous perspectives.

Brakelbos, Brakelbosstraat 31, 9660 Brakel.

Keukenhof

A little further — a great opportunity for a little getaway perhaps? — the Dutch Keukenhof is worth the trip (count a two hours and a half drive from Brussels). Since 1950, the park opens its doors to the public in spring and exposes its 7 million blooming tulips! This year marks the 68th edition of Keukenhof’s Dutch Design theme.

Stationsweg 166A, 2161 AM Lisse, The Netherlands. Open daily from March 21st to May 19th included (yes, also on Sundays and holidays) from 08:00 to 19:30 . Tickets cost 16€ for adults, 8€ for children. More info on keukenhof.nl.

Summer bonus : Flowertime

Missed the spring blooming but still wanna see flowers? For four days, the Brussels City Hall welcomes Flowertime. This incredible building is transformed into a paradisiac garden thanks to dozens of surprising floral arrangements.

Visitors are invited to a dreamy walk in the historic building from the lobby to the meeting rooms, corridors and offices. Each room is decorated with gorgeous floral arrangements made by tens of florists from all over the country! It’s also a great place to discover all the new floral trends, for those of you who have a green thumb or are getting married!

Flowertime, Brussels City Hall, Grand Place 1, 1000 Brussels. From August 14 to 18, from 10:00 to 22:00. Admission 8€ for adults, free for people under ten years old. More info and reservations on flowertime.brussels.

About the author Hello there! I'm Charlotte, based in beautiful Brussels and passionate about traveling, food and photography. Follow me @thetinynomad!