Royal Greenhouses tickets now on sale

Anyone looking to visit the Royal Greenhouses and enjoy a stroll through the palace gardens can now purchase their tickets online.

Following annual tradition, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken will be open to the public from 14 April to 7 May.

Their plant collection includes a host of rare plants, and the greenhouses themselves are an architectural sight worth seeing.

Designed by the architect Alphonse Balat and King Leopold II, they were built in the Art Nouveau style, with the first section inaugurated in 1880.

Several other greenhouses were built in later years, and gardeners have been working for months now to ensure the living treasures within will be looking their best for the public opening.

The Congo Greenhouse is dedicated to subtropical plants, the Winter Garden hosts palm trees and tree ferns and the Orangery has orange trees, laurels and camellias.

The complex also includes the Palm Greenhouse, the Azalea Greenhouse, the Geranium Gallery, the Diana Greenhouse and the Mirror Greenhouse.

In addition to the houses, there is a reproduction of the ruins of an ancient temple, a rose arch and some trees that are several centuries old.

Visitors can choose between a long visit of 2.5 hours or a short 1.5-hour walking trail.

On Thursday 27 April, there will be an adapted trail and guidance for persons with limited mobility.

Just as in previous years, evening visits will be possible (short trail only) on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.

Entrance tickets can only be purchased at the official website. It is not possible to buy or reserve tickets on the door.

Admission costs €5, while children under the age of 12 years can enter for free, provided that a reservation has been made for them in advance on the event's website.