Parc du Cinquantenaire and Triumphal Arch

The Parc du Cinquantenaire is a monumental public park in the Cinquantenaire district of eastern Brussels, laid out for the national exhibition of 1880 that marked fifty years of Belgian independence. Its centrepiece is the Triumphal Arch, a triple-arched structure crowned by a bronze quadriga that was completed in 1905 under Leopold II. Colonnaded wings extend from either side of the arch and house major institutions, including the Royal Army Museum, the Cinquantenaire Museum (Art and History) and the Autoworld motor museum. Behind the arch, the park is a mix of formal lawns, tree-lined paths, fountains and a small hill that gives views back toward the monument. The Pavilion of Human Passions, which contains Jef Lambeaux's marble relief, stands in a corner of the park, and a Neo-Moorish building houses a small mosque that is not open to casual visitors. Entry to the park is free and it is open from dawn to dusk. A walk around the main lawns and a look at the arch takes about an hour, though visitors who add a museum should budget half a day. The arch can be climbed through certain museum routes at times, but its main interest lies in the exterior and the views along Avenue de Tervueren and Rue de la Loi. Late afternoon provides the best light on the stone and bronze, and photographers often shoot from the central axis of the park looking toward the arch with the wide colonnades behind. The park is busy with joggers and office workers at lunchtime and in the early evening, and weekends bring families and picnickers. Tourist crowds are low compared with the Grand Place. The nearby streets around Square Marie-Louise and Square Ambiorix contain some of Brussels's best Art Nouveau houses, so a walk through the park pairs well with an architecture trail. Metro lines 1 and 5 to Merode or Schuman put the park within a five-minute walk, making it an easy stop for visitors in Belgium's capital.