3 Best Sights in Day Trips from Brussels, Brussels

Belgium's national botanic garden is a sprawling site that takes up most of the southern fringes of Meise. It wraps the old estate of Kasteel van Bouchou, which, despite being utterly destroyed during the French Revolution, was later rebuilt and now houses a museum all about the grounds. Beyond its moat lies an English-style garden filled with exotic plants from around the world, but the pièce de résistance here is the Plant Palace, the largest greenhouse in Belgium and one of the biggest in Europe. It is a vast biome of 35 hothouses filled with huge water-lily pads and tropical wonders. Other sights, such as the much smaller, mid-19th-century Balat Greenhouse, which was originally intended for a zoo, are just as fascinating for those interested. In addition, you'll find medieval, medicinal, and rose gardens, rhododendron woods, trails, art, an apiary, and some 18,000 plant species. Visit any time, though spring is naturally the most colorful season.  

About 8 km (5 miles) south of Beersel, you'll encounter the wilderness area of Hallerbos. It's known locally as "the blue forest" for good reason: come mid-April and early May, the ground underneath becomes a dazzling carpet of blue-violet flowers, as bluebells cover every inch. It's a small window of opportunity, though it's a pleasant spot to wander at any time of year. To get there, take the train from Beersel to Halle, then either hire a bike at the station (www.blue-bike.be) and cycle or take the No. 155 bus.  

Tervuren Park, once the hunting grounds of the Dukes of Brabant, was the venue for King Leopold II's 1897 Exposition. His aim was to showcase the wealth and "culture" he was tearing out of the then Congo Free State. International condemnation eventually forced him to even make it a colony. In preparation, he built the Koloniënpaleis (Colonial Palace), which now hosts the Royal Museum for Central Africa; and created gardens in the French style. The exposition itself was considered a success, though is now thought to be a stain on Belgian history. It contained a human zoo of Congolese, several of whom died in the crossing to Europe. But the park is more than this dark corner of history—its 205 hectares span a pair of valleys, and for those walking or cycling the trails here, it's the gateway to the northeasternmost reaches of the Forêt de Soigne, a vast forest of boundless trails.