Sonian Forest

The Sonian Forest covers about forty-four square kilometres on the southern edge of Brussels and is what survives of the great Charcoal Forest that once ran across this part of Europe. Its character comes from the eighteenth century, when the Austrian administration replanted it with beech in regular stands, producing the tall straight columns of trunk that give it the name the beech cathedral, with a high canopy and almost no undergrowth. A core area of old-growth beech was added in 2017 to the UNESCO listing of ancient and primeval beech forests across Europe. Roe deer, wild boar and a large bat population live in it, and it is threaded with paths, cycle routes and bridle ways, with an arboretum, an abbey ruin and a wildlife bridge over the ring road.

What you actually see

• The beech cathedral - tall straight trunks and a high closed canopy.
• Old-growth core - the section added to the UNESCO beech forest listing.
• Roe deer and boar - the resident large mammals of the forest.
• The Groenendaal arboretum - a collection of exotic trees within the forest.

When to go

April to October, with May for beech leaf and October for colour. Half a day. It is used heavily by Brussels at weekends; weekday mornings are quiet. Paths are muddy in winter.

Honest expectations

Motorways and the ring road cut the forest into sections and traffic noise carries. Paths flood in winter. Boar are present and can be aggressive around young. It is very busy at weekends near the accessible edges.

Nearby

Tervuren and the Africa Museum are east; central Brussels lies north.