Travel Belgium About Brussels Upper Town Parc De Bruxelles And Place Du Trone
Opposite the Palais Royal, the
Parc de Bruxelles is the most central of the city's larger parks, along whose tree-shaded footpaths civil servants and office workers stroll at lunchtime, or race to catch the métro in the evenings. They might well wish the greenery was a bit more interesting. Laid out in the formal French style in 1780, the park undoubtedly suited the courtly - and courting - rituals of the times, but today the straight footpaths and long lines of trees merely seem tedious, though the classical statues dotted hither and thither do cheer things up.
Beside the park's southeast corner stands the Palais des Académies , a grand edifice that once served as a royal residence, but now accommodates the Francophone Academy of Language and Literature. Just beyond is the place du Trône
, where the pompous equestrian statue of Léopold II was the work of Thomas Vinçotte, whose skills were much used by the king - look out for Vinçotte's chariot on top of the Parc du Cinquantenaire's triumphal arch.
From place du Trône, it's a few minutes' stroll east to the EU Parliament building and the EU Quarter, or you can head north for the ten-minute walk along boulevard du Régent to the Musée Charlier
