A Visit to the Great Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

Each year in May the royal greenhouses of Laeken are open to the public. Join me on a visit to this stunning 19th century glass extension of the royal palace in Laeken – the main residence of King Philippe of Belgium – and it’s surrounding gardens.

Last Friday we visited the royal greenhouses. We booked our tickets weeks in advance because this year, with covid19 restrictions still going on there were only a limited amount of tickets available. In normal times 100.000 people visit the royal greenhouses each year, this year just a fraction of that is allowed inside. And while it’s still possible to visit the royal greenhouses til the 6th of June, all tickets have been sold out by now. But there’s always another chance to visit next spring!

A stroll through the palace gardens

We first took a lovely walk through the beautiful gardens surrounding the palace. With the very cold spring we’ve had this year flowers everywhere are late to begin blooming and of course this was also the case here at the royal gardens. There were massive rose bushes that had literally thousands of rosebuds on them and must be absolutely stunning when they are in bloom. But even without those flowers in bloom the place is impressive. Copses of trees dotted around the undulating landscape, views of the palace and the greenhouses peaking through the foliage, ponds with romantic follies, … I could just imagine Mr. Darcy climbing out of the pond with his sodden clothes looking handsome like he did in Pride & Prejudice! It is a 19th century dream garden!

The Royal Greenhouses

After our stroll in the gardens we arrived at the greenhouses. The greenhouses have a surface area of no less than 1,5 hectares. Because of covid restrictions this year the traject through the greenhouses was a bit more limited than usual. They opted to show us only some of the larger greenhouse spaces and not the long narrow arcades but it was still amazing to see the part we could visit! And because we got to see less of the greenhouses they let us see more of the gardens than usually, so it was a unique experience that we may not get again especially with so few other visitors crowding the place!

David by Donatello at the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

The plants

The plant collection inside the royal greenhouses is pretty amazing. There’s a huge collection of exotic plants to see, some very rare and valuable, even some that were part in King Leopold II’s original plant collection all those years ago! The landscaping inside is incredible, no wonder it takes a team of 60 gardeners/workers to keep these greenhouses in perfect condition.

Flowers in the royal greenhouses of Laeken

flowers inside the royal greenhouses of Laeken

A little bit of history

In the 19th century new construction techniques with glass and metal made a new type of building possible, the greenhouse. The complex of the royal greenhouses in Laeken were designed in 1873 by architect Alphonse Balat for King Leopold II. It has the appearance of a glass city set in an undulating landscape. With monumental pavilions, glass domes and wide arcades he created what he called ‘The ideal glass palace’.

How to visit the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

The royal greenhouses are open to the public each year for several weeks during the months of May and June when the garden is in full bloom. The exact dates differ each year but keep an eye out on their website.

Getting there

You can easily visit the Royal Greenhouses by public transport. Take the train to Brussels North station and from there you can take bus 230 or 231 (De Lijn) to the royal palace, there’s a bus stop very close to the entrance.