BELGIAN KEUKENHOF
Every tulip lover's dream is Keukenhof in the Netherlands. Mine too! In fact, there were organized day trips from Brussels to Keukenhof. However, that would include 6-7 hours of bus travel in 1 day which would be just too stressful for Atyudarini. So maybe next time. While I was hunting for the next best tulip festival, I came across this, happening in this very city - Floralia Brussels!
WHERE IS THE BELGIAN TULIP GARDENS - FLORALIA BRUSSELS?
Floralia Brussels is happening in Groot Bijgaarden and Castle, located a bit farther to Koekelberg from the city centre. Though it is called Floralia Brussels, technically, Groot Bijgaarden is located just outside the city limits of Brussels, inside the Flemish Brabant province (Vlaams Brabant provincie). Visiting Floralia Brussels - the Belgian Tulip Garden is one of the top things to do in Flemish Brabant. GROOT BIJGAARDEN AND CASTLE
The architecture of the entrance across a moat with an impressive bridge. In the first instance, Groot Bijgaarden & Castle definitely reminded me of Eltham Palace. This was built in 17th C CE.
FLORALIA BRUSSELS - MOST INTRAGRAMMABLE LOCATIONS IN BRUSSELS
Here's my ranking of the most picturesque and most instagrammable places within Groot Bijgaarden & Castle - First is the bridge with 5 arches; Second is the 30m tall, 4 storied tower with 3m thick wall and then the third - the main castle. All 3 are accessible to date. Following this, the fourth most picturesque, instagrammable location in Brussels is of course the spectacular huuuuge 14 ha garden (again reminding of Eltham Gardens!). Right now, when Keukenhof is in full bloom, so is Groot Bijgaarden!!! The 14 ha space is filled with not only 1 million tulip bulbs of 400 varieties but also hyacinths, daffodils and other flowers of the spring season.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT FLORALIA BRUSSELS?
Floralia Brussels - The Belgian Tulip Garden is open only for about a month in April & May every year. The best thing I did was to reach there at its opening hour, because by the time I was returning, the entire car park was filled and the crowd was just too much! As soon as I entered, I was tempted to climb the tower, but then, since there weren't many people at that time, I decided to head directly to where most of the flowers were and that turned out to be a great idea. Unquestionably, Floralia Brussels is one of the best places for nature photography in Brussels and the best places to experience Spring Season in Belgium. Going early to the flowers, I got the best photographs of me and Atyudarini in my Didymos Meh-dai.
FAUNA IN GROOT-BIJGAARDEN - BLACK SWAN!
Just behind the tower, was this charming, wooden bridge across a canal and beyond it was this heart-shaped arrangement of red tulips. Further ahead was my favourite spot - rainbow valley! There were multitudes of tulips and several other flowers in several colours! Best part 2 geese and a.............. BLACK SWAN!!!!! Call me ignorant, I didn't know Black Swan existed!!! It a species that's originally from Australia and has been introduced in the UK & Europe.
From there the next spot was the French Garden with tulips in a rectangular arrangement.
CAFETERIA IN FLORALIA-BRUSSELS
Further ahead from there was the cafeteria. Picnic isn't allowed in the garden (except for small babies like Atyudarini who cannot go by any rules, lolz!), but the food & drinks variety here at the cafeteria is really good. The Cheese cake was divine.
INDOOR FLORAL ARRANGEMENT & FLORAL MAZE - FLORALIA BRUSSELS
Beside it is the indoor arrangement. The floral arrangement around old horse carts was just exquisite. Behind this was the maze! Honestly, it was a letdown. When I saw the maze on the map, I was really expecting a human height or at least waist-high vegetation. Sadly it was on the ground. Tulips arranged like a maze, on the ground.
GROOT-BIJGAARDEN CASTLE TOWER
After walking about for some more time (the peacock had lost its sheen by the time we visited!), I was back at the tower. This has 4 floors and each floor has a beautiful floral arrangement by Sebastien Dossin, which very much reminded me of Flower Time, Brussels. FLORALIA BRUSSELS - THE BELGIAN TULIP FESTIVAL
It wasn't very big and cannot be compared to the tulip fields of Keukenhof, but this is the best place to go in Brussels. Overall, it was a day well spent, esp., for Atyudarini, who we left on the ground behind the cafeteria. She did, totally enjoy the sun and the colourful blooms!!!
HOW MUCH TIME IS NEEDED TO VISIT FLORALIA BRUSSELS
An entire day! Floralia Brussels, the Belgian Tulip Festival is easily a day trip from Brussels. It is so vast filled with such gorgeous tulip gardens, in the backdrop of a stunning 17th C Castle, it easily takes an entire day to walk about taking photographs everywhere. If you're really in a tight schedule, set aside at least half a day!
FLORALIA BRUSSELS TICKETS
One day ticket of Floralia Brussels: €14
Season ticket of Floralia Brussels: €20 - to visit multiple times within this 1 month
Have to be pre-booked online on the official website of Floralia Brussels
FLORALIA BRUSSELS 2022 DATES & TIMINGS
Apr 2 to May 3 - 10:00AM to 6:00PM
HOW TO REACH GROOT-BIJGAARDEN & CASTLE (FLORALIA BRUSSELS)
Nearest railway station: Groot Bijgaarden. The direct train S10 (towards Aalst) goes via and stops at Groot Bijgaarden. The journey time is 30 mins and the frequency of the train is once every hour. The railway station is located 1km (12 mins walk) from the entrance of Groot-Bijgaarden Castle (Floralia Brussels).
How to reach Floralia Brussels by metro/tram:
Nearest tram stop: Groot Bijgaarden. The only tram line that goes to Groot Bijgaaden is STIB-MIVB T19. This runs from DeWand (the stop before Heysel-Atomium) to Groot Bijgaarden via Simonis. Many metro/tram lines are connected to DeWand and Simonis. The frequency of the tram line T19 is every 15 mins. It takes about 30 mins to reach from De Wand and 15 mins from Simonis to reach Groot-Bijgaarden. The tram stop is located 1km (12 mins walk) from the entrance of Groot-Bijgaarden Castle (Floralia Brussels).
How to reach Floralia Brussels by bus:
Nearest bus stop: Groot Bijgaarden Kerk. Being in Flemish Brabant, the bus that reaches here is not STIB-MIVB but belongs to DeLijn. Take DeLijn Bus route 355 from Brussels Nord or Simonis (Koekeleberg) to reach Groot Bijgaarden Kerk. The entrance to the Groot-Bijgaarden Castle (Floralia Brussels) is about 3 mins walk from Groot Bijgaarden Kerk bus stop.
P.S: I was invited by Floralia Brussels to experience the city for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
Oh, so there is some "Tulip activity" in Brussels. I was always thinking it is in Netherlands. Heh, Now I hope my boss will send me there again soon, so I can take pictures of all the tulips.
ReplyDeleteA picture perfect place! A great place to commune with nature, reflect and just walk. BTW, I would love to do landscape photography here!
ReplyDeleteFlowers always make me happy. And flowers festival are a delight for my spirit.
ReplyDeleteFloralia Brussels reminded my a little bit of FloraArt, the flowers exhibition in Zagreb, Croatia where I used to live.
Stunning pictures! Tha parks in Belgium are one of my favorite things and you had such a nice sunny day while visiting. I will keep this in mind for future visits:)
ReplyDeleteGlad to know about this festival. Nice frames.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a Tulip Festival. Thanks for sharing the post on your trip to Brussels Tulip Festival. In my country, India; there is one such Tulip festival in Kashmir, which just concluded on the 15th of this month. I am planning to go for that next year.
ReplyDeleteNothing says spring has sprung than seeing tulips! I love these flower festivals in Europe, they're always so bright and colouful. Floralia looks like a great place to visit, and with a family too.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there were tulip fields like this in Belgium! We try to visit our local one near Seattle, but this one is absolutely gorgeous! I'd love to bring my kids to Floralia for a family photo shoot!
ReplyDeleteOh wow...a trip like this has been on my bucket list for a long time. I love your photos, and it makes me want to go right now!
ReplyDeleteI just love flower fields like this! I had no idea there were tulips in Belgium! This is another reason Brussels is moving further up my bucket list!
ReplyDeleteTulip is one of my favorite flowers and this festival looks absolutely amazing! The vibrant tulips landscape looks surreal and picture perfect. I bet you guys had wonderful time out there!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, this is beautiful! I have heard of the one Netherlands but not this one. It's so fun sometimes when you discover an event close by that you didn't know about. And this is something I would love to experience. We do have something similar here in California too, in San Diego. Maybe someday I will get to see the tulip fields too.
ReplyDeleteWhile this may not be as grand as sight as the sprawling tulip fields of Netherlands, the location does impart a certain fairy tale like quality to your photos. I like the ones with multi colored tulips in the frame. This also reminds me that I need to visit Kashmir, for a Tulip experience closer home.
ReplyDeletehappy to read your articles, specially with pictures that you taken while travelling. thanks for sharing your experience.
ReplyDeleteWow, I would definitely love to get close to these beautiful belgian tulip if I get the chance. The good thing was that, it wasn't that crowded when you went in this beautiful garden. I would love to amble around this garden and embrace the refreshing feeling that it can provide. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteI have heard about this place but never been there. The garden looks so beautiful with tulips everywhere. The color is so colorful and brings the spring feeling. Would love to visit this festival one day.
ReplyDeleteAmazing. I will try to go there in future.Thanks for sharing this information.
ReplyDeleteRegards
http://www.getzdestinations.com/
I love flowers particularly these tulips. I would be so happy like a kid to visit this place. Looka like your kid enjoys it too and have his cute pictures.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear tulips, the image of windmills and endless tulips gardens in the Netherlands is immediately conjured. Nevertheless, it's really interesting to see that there's a festival dedicated to this beautiful flower in the neighbouring country of Belgium, so I would love to have the opportunity to visit and admire the flora there as well.
ReplyDeleteI am loving this post it reminds me of Bollywood romantic films straight out from 1970s. I will tell about this fest o my brother who will be staying in Brussels for a prolonged time. Absolutely beautiful and I like both the mixed colored one and those areas also where all flowers are of same color.
ReplyDeleteawesome traditional full of nature post sharing
ReplyDeletegreat clicks. Beauty captured.
ReplyDelete