Magnificent and magical experience - it was a sight for my eyes to behold!!! But I do think park mgmt has to do a better job with parking and also getting more park benches, hence while its 5 stars showing, in reality it's more like 4.5 from me. There's a great park ranger blog you can follow (and best of all its in English) and they post videos + pics and so that's what I have been doing since mid-March, as didn't want to miss the hyacinth flowering like had done last year. Last Friday the blog showed a sea of blue and since they flowers have a short flowering season of 2 weeks, a group of 5 of us left around noon and then got to Hallerbos 40 mins later. Parking was really horrible and we finally got some a long way from the park entrance. We found the blue marker near parking lot #2 and set off down the trail, sorta disappointed not to see that many hyacinths covering the wood floor as had expected. Encountered lots of tree stumps along the trail way that had been converted into stools to sit upon. About the halfway point, there was a long steep hill and when we reached the top and from the corner of my left eye, to paraphrase the poet: When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of blue hyacinths... beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. I just stopped and stared in wonder and turned around in a circle because all around me, I was surrounded by blue undergrowth. I felt had wandered into a sacred, special place and luckily it wasn't too crowded, so we all just co-existed, marveling at natures bounty. The hyacinths were numerous in number now and we continued our walk, upto parking lot 8, where all the trails converged and had great ice-cream for an €1 per scoop which was totally worth the wait in the long line. This is when I sorta felt let down because here was this great open space, and only one park bench? C'mon!! Surely park mgmt can do better! However this is a minor gripe, cause if you live in Belgium and don't come and see this beautiful sight that welcomes spring you are totally missing out! read more

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Hard to describe how pretty Hallerbos is. Twice a year, the wood is turned into a blue rug of hyacinths. A lot of pedestrian, horse rider and bicycle ways exist to explore the wood and its surroundings (more extended than expected - my legs are still hurting ! ). Since hyacinths do need sun to grow up, the wood is bright and light. Walking, sun taning AND enjoying the smell of the flowers is the perfect combination for a Sunday afternoon a few minutes away from Brussels. Little tip : you can follow the blossoming of the flowers on the website http://www.hallerbos.be/. read more

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About 8 months before visiting Belgium, I was killing time during a boring training class on Pinterest. I clicked on one of those images - places that you don't believe are real, and found the Hallerbos carpeted in bluebells. I clicked on the links to find out that they bloom in late April/early May - right when we'd be there! I was so excited! I read time an again how to get there, and we debated where to add it to our itinerary. We arrived in Brussels from the coast on a dreary and cold Monday. We asked at our hotel about getting here, but they'd never heard of it! They recommended we visit the Royal Gardens and the tulip/flower festival instead. Following the directions on the website, we were able to get there on our own, taking the train the Halle and taking the bus. The bus route was amended due to construction on the roads, but we knew we were going the right way since everyone on the bus was from somewhere else, and we were all going to the same place. We walked from the temporary bus stop, and knew we were going the right way because we saw others leaving. There is a nature center, but it was closed the day we were there (and it might only be open when groups request it). There are a few maps that show you the trails and how the majority of the park is actually after you cross under a main road. As we entered the valley, the bluebells were pockets of purple and white amazingness, smelling divine. We took plenty of pictures at the beginning but decided to keep going. Once we got past the main road, there were signs that marked that the hyacinths were ahead. And once we got to the larger part of the park, it was even more amazing. Seriously, you won't believe it's real. The trails are nice and wide and well-marked. There are maps often enough to make sure you know where you are and how to get back to where you started. We were lucky to be there on a day with few enough others that there were moments that we were able to pause and see no other people. read more

I'd been wanting to go to visit Hallerbos while the hyacinths were blooming since last year so once I got word they were, I could not wait to go and promptly organized to go with a friend. To get there, just google Hallerbos and it will direct you to parking, we came via Dworp and parking at P6 (more north in the park I believe). With all the visitors, navigating the one way streets can be fun, as you constantly have to move to the side for people coming from the opposite direction. In any case, it's all worth it! The hyacinths are simple breath taking, wonderful, beautiful, heavenly...words, nor pictures, can describe or depict how wonderful it is. It is truly amazing to see a sea of blue amongst the trees, which is all over the park. Not only are your sights dazzled but the smell, o my. The smell brings me back to Easter mornings, when my mom would decorate the house with hyacinths and the fragrance would stay throughout! To add to the senses, and a huge contrast to city life, Hallerbos is so quiet. All you hear is the birds happily chirping away. Best is to follow the hyacinth walk, which is not labeled at all (well, I did see one sign, wohoo). I printed out the maps found on the Hallerbos website for the Hyacinth walk and I'm really glad I did. This is definitely something the park can improve upon, setting up clear signs as from what I understand the hyacinths bloom in the same areas every year. As a note, I went during the week in the evening time and not only is the light beautiful then, there really aren't too many people visiting (a complaint I've read from others). So take my (and other's advice), go during the week! You won't be walking over people and you will be able to easily find parking! One thing I was happy to see is that the people were actually respecting the flowers, staying on the designated paths and not venturing down those that are closed to preserve the blooms. read more

This is a must visit place in April! This small forest outside Brussels is full of bluebells! They are everywhere and make the landscape beautifully blue. If you are lucky, you may see also small squirrels, birds and salamanders. It is worth the trip. read more

Hallerbos - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Hoeilaart, VBR

This is one of the most magical places I've ever been. We where lucky it wasn't overcrowded and we had all the forest just for ourselves. Beautiful, magical, just perfect!! read more

Hallerbos - Amazing day in a magical place!! - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Hoeilaart, VBR