Adventure with the Dinosaurs - Natural Science Museum, Brussels

If you are new in town, chances are, you have not heard of it. But the Natural Science Museum in Brussels, close to the European Parliament boasts one of the best dinosaur collections in the world.

It is truly amazing and has neat hands on parts making it very suitable for a young crowd. The museum has other collections too: rocks, bugs, butterflies, temporary exhibits. The prices are budget friendly, and it is easy to get lost for a good part of the day.

Playground Dames Blanches - Woluwe

The newly renovated playgound at close to the Tir aux Pigeons stop of bus 36 in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre is a new gem. 

While it is a small place, it offers activities for a wide range of ages from the very small to the adventurer 8-12 year old crowd. 

Cloitre Rouge - playgrounds, nature walks - all inside the city

The Cloitre Rouge in Auderghem is one of those places that you will keep going back to if you are in Brussels.

It is a multi-functional area, with the big old cloister building with its open spaces, two playgrounds (one entirely in the form of a pirate ship) and a little forest-gym / obstacle course part connecting the two. There is lake to walk around, some horses and donkeys to see and a big sport fields nearby.

Provinciedomein Huizingen

Just a short drive to the South of Brussels, in beautiful setting, you can easily spend a day in Huizingen.

The establishment is built around a castle, with a little lake.

There is a small animal park with mostly birds, like peackocks, some farm animals and deers. There are also two huge playgrounds, one for the smaller kids (0-8), one for bigger ones. There are sport facilities, walks in the garden and an open-air swimming pool.

The basic entry fee is fairly cheap (2.50 for adults), you can bring your picnic, as there are plenty of picnic tables, and it's possible to buy food inside as well. There's an extra fee for many of the activities available, such as boating on the lake, mini-cars, trampolines, mini-train, but there's really plenty to do without any of those. If you want to avoid crowds, go early in the morning - it opens at 9.

Exact address

Things to do (in Dutch)

Prairie Daiza

Prairi Daiza is not your traditional zoo. It is built on the grounds of an old Cistercian abbey. The separate areas are built in the architectural styles of different cultures and the setting is beautiful.

There are plenty of animals, a huge central playground, skywalks, and all kinds of cool exibits (bats in the old underground chapel).

It's a bit pricy, but if you plan to go more than once (about 50 min drive fromm Brussels), the season ticket costs less than two entries. It's definitely a special place.

Blankenberge - Sea Life and Walk on the Beach

On sunny weekends it feels like the whole country buckles up and starts driving west, to one of the little towns of the admittedly not to long Belgian coast.

I have avoided the place for a while, as I had memories of it being ugly and dirty.

Well, it turns out that you can still find great places to visit. Such is Blankenberge.

You can visit the exciting Sea Life with a good selection of aquarium displays, a shark tunnel and a seal attraction. It's perfect with kids - not too big, not too small and afterwards, you can walk down the pier and have a dame blanche at a sunny café.

Tervuren - park of the Africa museum

A wonderful afternoon on a shoestring if weather permits it!

The park of the Africa museum is a surprisingly big, well landscaped area with  a chain of reflecting pools, biking trails, paths through the woods. You can bike / toddle around the ponds, see the duck and swans and enjoy a bit of sunshine - all free of charge.

For added fun take tram 44 instead of driving!

In case it's raining, hop in to the Africa Museum (adults 4 euros, kids under 12 free) and look around.

The Museum Website