Egmont Park

Every city dweller occasionally feels the need to retreat from the hustle and bustle. In earlier times, this privilege was easier for some to enjoy: religious individuals in their monasteries with quiet corridors and inner gardens, noble families and wealthy citizens in their city palaces with private parks. The families Egmont (16^th-18^th centuries) and Arenberg (18^th-early 20^th centuries) also built their residence on the eastern hills of the Zenne valley, high above the noise and stench.

Since the 1960s, the renovated salons and halls (to the right behind the gate) have been used by the Belgian diplomacy; the adjoining gardens became a public park shortly after World War I. It was laid out in English landscape style, with romantically winding paths, hidden nooks, and statues. A little further left lies a wonderful terrace around the former orangery (winter garden). Under the ancient trees, you might almost forget that the Petite Ceinture is nearby. Their canopies filter both sunlight and city noise.

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