Children's activities

A Guide to Children’s Outdoor Activities in Belgium

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A list of nearly 200 places in Belgium that are great for children’s outdoor activities.

Recently, a few readers of this blog have asked me for suggestions for children’s outdoors activities in Belgium. So I thought I’d do some research and compile a list. A lot of small lists are already available, but scattered here and there on the Internet. I don’t pretend that this list is in any way complete. Most towns have their own children’s playgrounds, which would be impossible to list. I do however include some of the larger ones. I focus on outdoor activities, such as adventure playgrounds, open air swimming pools, wildlife parks, children’s farms, zoos, steam trains, forest playgrounds, rail-bikes etc. I also include some underground caves in Wallonia, which I suppose are also outdoors in that they are not inside a building. It also includes a few outdoor engineering wonders for older children.

Most of the names are self-explanatory but where they are not I’ve given a short description. You’ll see quite a few of the locations described as “provincial domains.” These are generally excellent for children of all ages, and include activities like swimming, boating, minigolf, tennis, trampolines, playgrounds for young and older children, and usually a café or restaurant.

I hope you find something of interest for your children and/or grandchildren. The easiest option is to select which of the 10 provinces of Belgium you live in or will be visiting. And then go through the list to see if anything sounds appealing. The nearest town is shown in bold, and the towns are in alphabetical order. Clicking on the name takes you to more information of each place. Unfortunately, many of the websites are only in Dutch and/or French, which seems short-sighted when they are seeking to attract tourists, so you may have to juggle with Google Translate. The provinces are alphabetical: the first five are in Flanders; the next five are in Wallonia; and I end up with a short list for Brussels.

Naturally, in these difficult COVID-19 times, you will have to check whether each of these places is open or not. Some will require you to register in advance. And please take note of the regulations regarding facemasks and social distancing etc.

ANTWERP PROVINCE

Park Spoor Noord in Children's outdoor activities in Belgium
Park Spoor Noord, Antwerp

EAST FLANDERS PROVINCE

Children's playground Puyenbroeck, Wachtebeke
Children’s playground Puyenbroeck, Wachtebeke

FLEMISH BRABANT PROVINCE

Kessel-Lo recreation park
Provincial Domain Kessel-Lo, Leuven

LIMBURG PROVINCE

Forest playground Bosland Lommel
Forest playground Bosland, Lommel

WEST FLANDERS PROVINCE

Children's outdoor activities in Belgium
Graaf Visartpark, Bruges

BRABANT WALLON PROVINCE

Steam train Rebecq
Stream train Rebecq

HAINAUT PROVINCE

Children's outdoor activities in Belgium include Pairi Daiza animal park
Pairi Daiza animal park

LIEGE PROVINCE

Railbiking in the Hoge Venen
Rail-bike of the High Fens

LUXEMBOURG PROVINCE

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NAMUR PROVINCE

Children's outdoor activities in Belgium include the Caves of Han
The Caves of Han

BRUSSELS REGION

Children's outdoor activities in Belgium
Bois de la Cambre, Brussels

SOME OTHER SUGGESTIONS

The list is obviously only a selection of what’s available. Elsewhere on this blog I describe 15 family-friendly walks that you might find helpful. If you think your child considers a country walk to be boring, you might like to read my tips on How to make a country walk fun for kids!

SOME OUTDOOR CHILDREN’S NATURE PROJECTS

Finally, here are some nature-based projects that I’ve written about here on this blog that may give you some further inspiration:

PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN SUGGESTIONS!

I would be delighted if you could add to the lists above with your own discovering of children’s outdoor activities in Belgium. Just drop me a line or add a comment below and I will be happy to add your suggestion to the list. Even quicker: send me a WhatsApp message:

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And remember, if you want to keep up-to-date with this list or other posts on Discovering Belgium, just add your email below to get new posts straight into your inbox.

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11 replies »

  2. This is a nice service to visitors or inhabitants with children or grands. Maybe even babysitters or au pairs that need help on where to take their charges.

    Reply

  3. Great post with wonderful information for those traveling with children! What does Belgium offer for those traveling with German Shepherds? … just kidding! ?

    Reply

    • Well it’s generally a very dog-friendly country Darren. When hiking I frequently come across a bowl of water outside a house for dogs.

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      • The burgers were actually quite tasty — I had them a few times.

        But when Olmense Zoo became Pakawi Park, they changed the restaurant menu. Which is a pity, because that was quite a high point for me 😉

        Reply

  6. Belgium is a beautiful wonderland for kids of all ages. I especially like the playground forest in Bosland, Chlorophyll Park, and the river boats in Brussels. There are plenty of play and explore areas in the US, but the best are our many national parks. However, the Covid crisis is making travel difficult. Most folks are trying to make do with close-to-home adventures.

    Reply

    • Thanks for your positive comment Sharon. Over here too many of these activities are curtailed or reduced in size, particularly the organized ones. Thankfully, as you point out, there are many activities in the open air for individual families to enjoy in a safe environment. I wish you and your Californian friends safety and health in such an awful situation for your state, Sharon.

      Reply

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