Fortunately, Elisabeth's school, International School of Brussels (ISB), sent a list of play grounds in Brussels. This list was especially helpful as school did not begin for another few weeks. Here are two of our favorites.
Tournay Solvay, Boitsfort
One of the first parks we visited was Tournay Solvay park in Boitsfort. We parked at the Boitsfort parking lot and entered the imposing iron gates to the park. In French, "bois" means wood and "fort" means strong. The park itself is heavily wooded with a huge tree canopy. Kate calls it the "tree tunnel" because she can't see the sky through the trees.
The girls picked a path and we proceeded to cross an old bridge, meandering towards the haunted house, the Tournay Solvay mansion. The mansion is in ruins and somewhat overwhelming for the girls. Incredible architecture. We quickly passed the mansion and walked down the hill. At the bottom of the hill we discovered three or four ponds with weeping willow trees and, in some places, covered by fog (very spooky - a great place to visit for Halloween). We passed the lakes and then headed up a steep hill (a "mud mountain" according to Kate). At the top of the hill is an apple orchard and just past the orchard a walled garden with a maze. The girls enjoyed running through the labyrinth. Exiting the walled garden on the other side we turned right and walked through a short tunnel. At the exit of the tunnel we could see a clearing in the woods and a terrific park with an airplane, a slide and forts. We enjoyed our time at the park and the walk back to the car. What an adventurous morning!
http://www.opt.be/informations/tourist_attractions_watermael_boitsfort__park_tournay_solvay/en/V/17547.html
Rouge Cloitre, Auderghem
During our first week we also enjoyed an outing to Rouge Cloiter park in Auderghem. We parked on the street next to a soccer stadium and walked along a tree-lined path that meandered through a field. There is an impressive stone wall in the distance. As we turned a corner we looked down a slight hill and saw the most delightful park with a pirate theme. The girls especially enjoyed the zip line and pirate ship. The park is enclosed by a fence and very well manicured hedge. Down the hill is another playground, but we haven't been there yet...a long hike back up.
http://www.opt.be/informations/tourist_attractions_auderghem__rouge_cloitre_park/en/V/39694.html
