Botanic Garden Meise | Belgium - Life of a Passion

The Botanic Garden Meise is located on the grounds of Bouchout Castle in Meise (a town north of Brussels). It is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world and is also the National Botanic Garden of Belgium.

Buy your Botanic Garden Meise entry tickets here

1) The park

It has a large collection of living plants and an herbarium. You can see the 18,000 plant species in the different greenhouses and park. The goal of the Botanic Garden is to research and preserve plants but to also show it to the public.

Fun fact: Botanic Garden Meise (92 Hectares) is larger than the main park of Disneyland Paris (40.4 Hectares).

plantentuin meise, botanical garden meise, Belgium

2) Palace of the Plants

When walking around in the Palace of the Plants, you walk literally between the plants. The palace has over 13 small greenhouses that you can walkthrough. Every greenhouse represents a climate or continent and even simulates the climate of its region.

Fun fact: You can also take a photo of your baby on a giant water lily in July. Make sure to reserve your spot, only 130 babies per day can get a photo.

plantenpaleis, palace of the plants, plantentuin meise, botanical garden meise, Belgium

3) Balat greenhouse

The Balat Greenhouse was built in 1854 to grow Victoria Amazonica, a large waterlily of tropical America. The greenhouse is named after the architect but had other names in the past: Victoria House or the Crowned House. The Balat greenhouse was an exercise to see how the Royal Greenhouses in Laken could be built.

Fun Fact: The Titan Arum can also be found in the Botanic Garden in Meise. This flower is known for its odor that resembles the smell of a rotting carcass.

balat serre in botanic garden meise, plantentuin meise in belgium

4) Bouchout Castle

Bouchout Castle is the castle that can be found in the Botanic Garden Meise. It was built around the 12th century and has a rich history. The castle fell into despair during the Spanish dominance in the 16th century and the French Revolution (1800-1830) but was restored in the end. The castle has also a rich history of owners. The most famous one is Empress Charlotte of Mexico. She was the daughter of King Leopold I (Belgium) and became the Empress of Mexico by marrying Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. You can visit the castle if there is an exhibition or lecture.

Fun fact: During the school holidays and during the weekend, you can take the free Botanic Garden Train.

Kasteel van Bouchout, plantentuin meise, botanical garden meise, Belgium

5) Orangery

The Orangery in the Botanic Garden is the perfect place to eat a pancake or drink a soda. The orangery is the restaurant of the botanic garden and has a beautiful terrace by the pond.

Fun fact: The Botanic Garden organizes a WonderWeekend during the summer where families can spend the night in the Botanic Garden Meise in cardboard tents.

orangerie, orangery, plantentuin meise, botanical garden meise, Belgium

6) Houtlab (Woodlab)

WOODlab offers interactive activities to learn about wood!

7) Many more to come!

For the moment, Plantentuin Meise is building a new entrance building and is also planning to improve the customer experience by planning new cultural walking tours, building a wooden museum (about the wood of course) and many more! I’ll keep you posted!

How to get there?

Take the train to Brussels-North railway station, step outside the building and search for the bus lines 250 and 251 (those busses stop at the same bus stop). Ask for the Botanic Garden in Meise and ask if they’d give you notice to step out of the bus. The bus ride will be around 30 minutes.

Another possibility is to take the train to Londerzeel and take the same bus lines. The bus ride will be around 20 minutes.

The last option is to just take your car and take exit Meise on the A12 (Brussels-Antwerp). There is parking available near the entrance.
Address: Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise