Opening of the Royal greenhouses of Laeken
21 Apr 2018 - 11 May 2018
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Serres Royales Laeken - Avenue du Parc Royal 1020
- OPENING DAYS: the Greenhouses are open from Saturday 21 April until Friday 11 May 2018 inclusive, except Monday 23 April and Monday 07 May. Please note that opening hours vary by day.
- REDUCED MOBILITY: A shorter (recommended) privileged route has been arranged for people with reduced mobility throughout the opening period. The visit of all the greenhouses remains possible of course, but there is no special arrangement. Preferential day for people with reduced mobility on Tuesday 8 May. On that day, the preferred route will be extended to almost all greenhouses. Individual assistance provided by Defence volunteers to people in wheelchairs will result in longer queues at some locations.
- REOPENING OF THE CONGO GREENHOUSE: It is possible to visit the Congo Greenhouse again, while the works are being completed.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION :
Entrance and exit: through the Grilles d'Honneur of the Château de Laeken, Avenue du Parc Royal, 1020 Brussels.
Parking: in front of Laeken Castle, Avenue de la Dynastie.
Admission fee: An admission fee of 2.50 euros per person (free for under 18s) will be charged. The money collected will be entirely allocated to the Queen's Works, restoration operations and the acquisition of works of art from the Royal Collection (the Royal Collection was created at the birth of our country; it belongs to the Belgian State and includes a collection of art objects of all kinds (sculptures, paintings, furniture, tableware...) which decorate the Palaces.
Guided tours are not organized.
Admission tickets cannot be booked in advance.
It is now possible to pay by debit or credit card.
WHAT WILL BE VISIBLE: In addition to the greenhouses, the public will have the opportunity to visit Queen Elizabeth's workshop. The visit will follow an itinerary that will take the visitor outside the greenhouses at some moments, what will allow him to see parts of the park.
Serres Royales Laeken
Avenue du Parc Royal 1020
During the 19th century, progress in construction techniques, especially the use of metal and glass as construction materials, made a new type of building possible: the greenhouse. In 1873, architect Alphonse Balat designed for King Leopold II a complex of greenhouses which complement the castle of Laeken, built in the classical style. The complex has the appearance of a glass city set in an undulating landscape with monumental pavilions, glass cupolas and wide arcades that cross the site like covered streets. The Royal Greenhouses in Laeken - the "Ideal Glass Palace" - inspired the new Belgian architecture of the day, and their influence spread, with Art Nouveau, throughout the world. The present-day plant collection at the Greenhouses in Laeken is extremely valuable because some of the plants belonging to King Leopold II's original collections still exist and the current collections still respect the spirit that prevailed when the original collections were planted. Finally, the Royal Greenhouses still contain an enormous number of rare and valuable plants. As the tradition wants, each year in spring, the Greenhouses of Laeken are opened to the public for almost three weeks.
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