Pairi Daiza
A Large Themed Zoo And Botanical Park In The Grounds Of A Cistercian Abbey, Often Voted Among Europe'S Best Zoos, With Giant Pandas, A Chinese Garden And Themed 'Worlds' · Brugelette, Hainaut Province
Pairi Daiza is a large themed zoo and botanical garden at Brugelette in Hainaut, in French-speaking Wallonia, about an hour south-west of Brussels. It opened in 1994 as a bird park called Paradisio in the grounds of Cambron Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century, and the abbey tower, walls and gardens still stand inside the park. Over the years it grew into a sequence of themed worlds - a Chinese garden with giant pandas, Oceania, a Land of the Cold with polar bears, an English harbour called the Mersey, the Gondwana ark and more - built with temples, boats and full-size buildings rather than plain cages. Its name comes from an old Persian word said to be the root of the word paradise. It is often voted among the best zoos in Europe, and families come for a whole day, or a night in a themed lodge among the animals. The honest caveat: it is expensive, the site is huge and hilly, and on sunny weekends and school holidays it is packed, with queues at every restaurant and viewing window.
Domaine de Cambron, Brugelette, in Hainaut, about an hour south-west of Brussels, Brugelette, Hainaut Province, Belgium
Pairi Daiza runs a main season from roughly early April to early November, opening daily at about 10 am and closing in the early evening, later on some summer weekends - check the current calendar, because dates and hours move each year. It is usually closed from early November to late November, then reopens for a winter season of lights over Christmas and some weekends into January, with fewer animals on show outdoors; confirm those dates too. Getting there: SNCB trains stop at Cambron-Casteau station on the Mons-Ath line, a short walk from the entrance; from Brussels you usually change at Ath or Mons, roughly 1-1.5 hours in all. By car it is about an hour from Brussels, with a large paid car park. Tickets are sold for a specific date online, and busy weekends, Easter and summer holidays can sell out; lodge nights sell out months ahead. Brussels has a Low Emission Zone if you drive through it first.