Arboretum Wespelaar

Haacht, Belgium, Belgium

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Arboretum Wespelaar is a specialized tree and shrub collection located in Wespelaar (address: Grote Baan 63, 3150 Haacht), Belgium, covering 20 hectares and featuring about 2,000 to 2,300 different species and cultivated varieties of woody plants collected from around the world, with a focus on specimens gathered from nature and those threatened in the wild.

The arboretum was started in 1985 by Philippe de Spoelberch, who expanded his existing dendrological collections into nearby meadows and woodlands, and it was later entrusted in 2001 to the Foundation Arboretum Wespelaar to ensure the collections' preservation and public opening. It is particularly renowned for its exceptional collections of Acer (maples), Magnolia, Rhododendron, and Stewartia, housing everything from giant trees to low-growing shrubs, combining aesthetic beauty with scientific rigor as a world botanical reference.

The site is open to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., between April 1 and November 15 annually, with entrance fees of €6 for adults and children over 12, free admission for children under 12 accompanied by an adult, and guided visits available on request. Located on the border of the Brussels-Mechelen-Leuven triangle, the arboretum is easily accessible by car, train (Wespelaar-Tildonk station), bus (line 284), or bike via the Leuven-Mechelen canal, and offers both a cafétéria and a library for visitors.