The glass palace

Each year in the Spring, the Belgian King Albert opens the greenhouse complex on this estate to the general public for three weeks. Although we already live in Brussels for more than three years, today was the first time that we visited the Royal Greenhouses of Laken.

Built on the initiative of King Leopold II, the Royal Greenhouses are an important 19th century monument. They were built in Art Nouveau style, entirely of metal and glass, which was a spectacular innovation at the time. Inside the complex you can find the Winter Garden (Jardin d'Hiver), the Congo Greenhouse and the Orangerie as well as a lot of other interesting rooms. The tour also takes you outside to have a view on the King's estate and his palace.

We saw so many beautiful plants and flowers, so I took a lot of nice pictures. In the end I chose this picture of the Winter Garden as today's picture.

If you ever have the chance to visit the Royal Greenhouses, I can strongly reccomend it!

(When we were on our way out, the King passed us in his car! Poor guy, he is working so hard to save the Belgian government (again).)