On wheels or on ice, skates are popular in Brussels. Want to burn up the tarmac or the ice at great pace, or with style or by cutting figures, so visit the ice rinks or the great perfectly macadamed arenas.
Roller @ Bois
A quasi-legendary skating venue in Brussels for decades, the Bois de la Cambre contains two hot spots for roller-skating addicts. Le carrefour des Attelages is without doubt the preferred venue of the greatest who devote themselves either to the slalom between the cones or to stylistic figures (equipment for rent at weekends). The great classic remaining the tour of the lake along alleys closed to traffic and covered with pretty acceptable tarmac. At a stone's throw from there, beneath the vegetation, there hides the famous outdoor skating rink, where rental equipment and lessons are available for a good part of the year. An ideal family venue, thanks to the restaurant's adjacent terrace.Breakneck rollerbladers will go to the side of the Skatepark of the Ursulines, below the Sablon, to "grind" on the long blue stones or to fly off in the bowl (pretty steep) in order to string together some highly sophisticated acrobatics.
It is obviously essential to recall the Roller Parade that takes place each Friday from June to the end of September for THE run through our capital's lovely avenues. Good roller maps: www.rouliroula.com .
Ice Version
A veritable institution in Brussels, the Poseidon Skating Rink has been getting the people of Brussels to skate for decades. The secret of its survival? An impressive surface, a Thursday evening disco, a sliding roof for when the weather is fine, an area for the little ones on certain days and initiation into ice hockey for the boldest. Its late opening hours on certain days are an undeniable bonus.December also brings its batch of frozen fairyhood and the two "places to be" for winter sports enable you, during the holiday periods, to make your blades sing in the open air. A cordial and popular venue, the Plaisirs d'hiver skating rink invites you to skate over a length of 60 metres with, at the end, a break in its pleasantly lit brasserie. A separate area for all the little ones is also proposed. Another place, another atmosphere, the inner courtyard of the Conrad Hotel has for a few years been proposing a small, very pleasant skating rink for children in a utterly chic and musical environment. A cosy venue therefore, far from the madding crowd. OLIGRAPH / van de Kerchove
