The Jardin Botanique is a small neoclassical garden on the hill above the Botanique metro station that served as Brussels' botanical garden from 1826 until the living collection was moved to Meise in the 1930s. What remains is a beautiful formal garden of geometric paths, fountains, and mature trees surrounding the Orangerie — a glass-and-iron greenhouse that was converted in 1984 into Le Botanique, one of Brussels' most important concert and exhibition venues.
Le Botanique is where Brussels' music scene lives — the three performance halls (the Orangerie, the Rotonde, and the Museum) host indie, electronic, world music, and French chanson in spaces that combine 19th-century architecture with contemporary sound systems. The Nuits Botanique festival every May fills all three venues and the garden with 10 days of concerts that draw music fans from across Belgium and northern France. The cultural centre also hosts art exhibitions, and the combination of live music, visual art, and garden setting makes it one of the most atmospheric cultural venues in the city.
The garden itself is a pleasant urban retreat — smaller and less formal than the Bois de la Cambre but more accessible, sitting right on the inner ring road at the edge of Saint-Josse, Brussels' most densely populated and multicultural commune. The mix of languages you hear in the garden — French, Dutch, Arabic, Turkish, Polish — reflects the neighbourhood's status as one of the most diverse square kilometres in Europe.
Verified Facts
The garden served as Brussels' botanical garden from 1826 until the 1930s
Le Botanique was converted into a concert venue in 1984
The Nuits Botanique festival runs annually in May
The living botanical collection was moved to Meise
Get walking directions
236 Rue Royale, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, 1210, Belgium
