Between the colossal buildings of the European Quarter and the bustle of Place Jourdan, Leopold Park appears as a true green lung in this heavily built-up part of Brussels. Around fifty of its trees are also listed as remarkable trees of the Brussels Region.
Created in the mid-19th century as a zoological and botanical garden nestled in the Maelbeek valley, the park was transformed in 1891, under the impetus of the Université libre de Bruxelles and patrons such as Ernest Solvay, into a genuine city of science. For science, it became what the Mont des Arts represents for artistic creation. The magnificent buildings it contains still bear witness to that fertile period, with the Janlet wing (1905) of the Museum of Natural Sciences listed as a historic monument in April 2026.