While we wouldn’t say no to a brisk autumn or winter walk in the countryside, Flemish Brabant really comes into its own in the summer. The green belt surrounding Brussels is all fields, flowers and fresh-smelling forests. Take a jaunt of a few kilometres, and you will find yourself stopping short, with a pond on one side and cows grazing on the other, and thinking: Well, that’s pretty idyllic, all right.
With its landscaped gardens, access to the Sonian Forest and a top-class museum, there’s another world to discover in Tervuren just outside Brussels. Getting to the municipality, just east of Brussels, is all part of the fun. Board the 44 tram at Montgomery on the edge of the European quarter, and after a picturesque 20-minute ride you’re in a different world. As you leave behind the capital’s pretty suburbs, the tram plunges into the forest, emerging on the outskirts of Tervuren, where culture, nature and history await.