Its spring time and most of northern hemisphere is laden with flowers of all types and colours. Every year this time you will feel that world couldn’t have been more beautiful! You can be at many places and Belgium is indeed one of them. As it is time for Floralia Brussels.
Especially for the new flowering time, the gardeners of the castle have planted again more than one million bulbs. There are more than 500 varieties of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other related varieties. The artists have also created a carpet of wild flowers, a heart of different red tulips and a labyrinth in the colours of a rainbow. You will find here the largest Belgian collection of rhododendrons and azaleas from Exbury Gardens (England). In the large greenhouse, one can admire a wide range of flower arrangements realized by florist Hans Danko and his team.
After 6 months of restoration, the Donjon, dated from the 14th century, will be again accessible to its roof terrace from where you can see the Atomium and the basilica of Brussels. The rooms of each floor will be decorated in different themes.
The park will welcome Venetian visitors during the weekend of 18 and 19 April. Twenty costumed characters will parade through the park on Saturday in the afternoon and Sunday the whole day. After the participation at the Carnival of Venice they look forward to presenting you their newest costumes. In several places young musicians from the Music academy of Dilbeek will entertain the audience with their performances. The castle of Grand-Bigard may also expect the fanfare on Friday 1 May. With a ticket of 12 EUR per adult Floralia Brussels will remain open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.
Tourists have long marvelled at the beauty of Belgium’s ancient monuments and castles.The province of Brabant is home to several of them, testimony to a glorious past, but the castle in the pretty village of Grand Bigard, 7 km west of Brussels, is certainly one of the most beautiful. The castle of Grand Bigard, first built in the XIIth century, is surrounded by a broad moat, its deep waters reflecting the centuries-old beech trees. A five-arch bridge, headed by two XVIIth century heraldic apes crosses over to the drawbridge leading to the fortified entrance dating back to the XIVth century. The castle itself, built in the XVIIth century, is a vast edifice of remarkably pure style: it is a wonderful example of the Flemish Renaissance, with a long, one-storied main building in pink brick, contrasting beautifully with the white stone mullioned windows and the blue slate roof. The chapel, in the right wing, has remained unchanged for the last three centuries, and the left wing is surmounted by a bulb-shaped roof. Erected around 1347, the dungeon, a massive 30-metre high structure next to the fortified entrance, has four floors. The walls are two metres thick. There is a marvellous view of Brussels and the Flemish countryside to be had from the fourth floor terrace.
Truly Beautiful!