Boitsfort centre & le Coin du Balai

Located in the south-east of Brussels, Watermael-Boitsfort is a rich and green municipality. The immediate proximity of the Forêt de Soignes as well as the numerous green spaces and parks offer a real serenity and attract many inhabitants thanks to its charm and village spirit.

Watermael-Boitsfort has been able to combine economic prosperity and family spirit over the years and has become one of the most sought-after communities in Brussels.

Often surrounded by gardens, the homes in this municipality are very popular with families, who find an ideal living environment, numerous transport facilities and a range of extra-curricular activities for the youngest.

The Maison Communale district is one of the most lively and commercial areas of the town. The municipal buildings are located next to beautiful green spaces and are witness to the famous market on the Wiener square, which is held every Sunday morning.

It doesn’t get much more rural and friendly than the market in Boitsfort. People flock there for its quality products: organic vegetables, cheeses and artisanal treasures. People also come for the many flower stalls and to buy the traditional Sunday chicken from the ‘ »Roi du Poulet »

A little further south, le Coin du Balai is a « village district » built on the edge of the Forêt de Soignes. Surrounded on all sides by the foliage of the forest, it evokes the broom makers who used to live there.

The small terraced houses, built for and by working-class families between 1880 and 1920, are arranged in tight rows and stretch along the Zwaeneweidebeek stream and follow the line of the Chaussée de La Hulpe.

They have very simple facades and open onto the rear plots of land, which used to be vegetable gardens, via narrow easements. In the Rue du Buis, the graves of the picturesque cemetery face the forest. Higher up, on the edge of the forest, the so-called « Eigenhuis » comprises a few quiet streets converging on the small square where the painter and sculptor Rik Wouters set up his studio in 1913.

The wish of its inhabitants is to preserve this unique place in the region, the last village not enclosed in the urbanisation of the city, historically protected by its forest and natural setting.

The Maison Communale and Coin du Balai neighbourhood is home to many restaurants. The most demanding will go to the gastronomic Le Coriandre or La Véraison, while epicureans in search of authenticity will gladly sit down at Le Psylophone, Le Miladiou or Le Canard Sauvage.  Or perhaps the Tram de Boitsfort, where you can enjoy tasty and inventive homemade hamburgers.

Shops of all kinds will satisfy all your needs. Push the door of the Winery (for its selection of wines and its bistronomic cuisine), of the Colibri Kidstore, a shop for children and for parents who want to consume more sustainably, but also of Poppins Time for its pistachio ice cream and of the Relais du Triporteur, which was one of the very first bulk grocery shops in Brussels when it opened.

There are many transport facilities in the district. The Boitsfort train station (line 161 Brussels – Namur), bus lines 17 and 95 or the tram line 8 will allow you to quickly reach the other parts of the Capital or Brabant-Wallon.

This part of Brussels also has a number of high-quality schools, such as the International School of Brussels and the highly regarded Institut de l’Assomption.

Finally, we invite you to recharge your batteries in the Tournay-Solvay Park, one of the most beautiful parks in the Brussels-Capital Region.

This park, which was once part of the Forêt de Soignes, offers a range of varied spaces and is characterised by its steep slopes: an English garden at the top, a more natural forest on the slopes and two ponds in the valley. This is followed by an orchard which precedes a privately managed vegetable garden.

Finish your walk by passing the former Petite Laiterie de la Forêt de Soignes and the Chemin des Silex to admire the Etangs de Boitsfort.