3 best pocket parks in Brussels

Brussels has a hundreds of pocket parks tucked away in its nooks and crannies. Through unmarked doorways, or behind high walls. Small spaces of respite, perfect for reading a book on a park bench or a picnic with some friends. You could walk right past one and never even know it’s there, but when you stumble across one it feels like your own secret garden in the middle of the metropolis.

1. Tenbosch

Much of Brussels, including large swathes of Ixelles and Uccle, is laid out in such a way that behind the façades of whole city blocks lie large green spaces, usually divided into the private gardens of the houses surrounding these inner courts.

Tenbosch (pictured) is a great example of what would happen if more of this private space was turned into public space. Originally the private garden of a tree-lover named Semet, in 1981 Brussels politician and environmentalist Konstantin Stefanovitch successfully lobbied to turn Tenbosch into a public park.

Secreted away in Ixelles, not far from Chatelain, part of the charm of this pentagonal park is that it’s hard find and even harder to remember how to get back to. A playground makes it a perfect spot to bring children, while its gentle slopes and delicately winding paths still let you find a quiet knoll to relax.

To find Tenbosch: You’re unlikely to know it’s there on three of its five sides, so look for the main entrance at the the monument commemorating the 1915 Armenian genocide at the roundpoint where Rue des Melèlze, Rue Washington and Rue Hector Denis meet.

2. Parc du Viaduct

Even more hidden than Tenbosch, Viaduct Park is quieter and enjoys less traffic than its larger cousin. One side of this simple cloister of green space runs along the railroad tracks in Ixelles, while the others are formed by Rue Viaduct and Rue du Trône. A perfect escape to get some fresh air if you work in the European district or near Place Saint Boniface.

Right across Rue Viaduct from the park (though the entrance is around the corner on Chaussée de Wavre) is the Ciel Ouvert Camping, the only camping site in the Brussels Region. Open only in July and August, it is a camping like any other with showers and other basic facilities, except that it’s in the middle of Brussels city.

Park entrance behind the Yeti café at Rue du Viaduc 133
Ciel Ouvert Camping found at Chaussée de Wavre 205

3. Parc Faider

Near the border of Ixelles and Saint Gilles, a few steps away from Rue du Bailli, this tiny, 30 square-metre park was once the stuff of legends. Before it was cut down in 1994, in the middle of the circular path that surrounded the park stood a beautiful old silver lime tree. It is fabled that the tree was planted by nineteenth-century American wild west showman Buffalo Bill in 1901 when he and his circus pitched their tent there on a European tour.

Entering Faider requires some confidence, as the entrance looks just like any old doorway and asks you to walk down a dark walkway. At the end of it, however, you are rewarded with a sleepy neighbourhood park with a playground for kids.

Entrance at 86 Rue Faider