This vast ensemble of gardens punctuated by monuments and museums is dominated by a triple triumphal arch. It is one of the locations symbolic of Brussels, in the Beaux-Arts style.

In 1880, only the two side palaces, the base of the colonnades and the arcade were built for the fiftieth anniversary of Belgium. The trees were planted in 1888.

This is a park in the classical French style, a large rectangle geometrically divided up by beautiful rows of trees. Its broad lanes delimit rectilinear lawns bordered by hedges or adorned by flowerbeds and sculptures.

Beyond the museums, the park has the shape of a triangle centred on a vast basin with many fountains. The right side of the park is devoted to social life. The left part is ideal for walking and relaxation, with its benches, espaliered lindens and arbours.

About fifteen trees in the Cinquantenaire appear on the list of remarkable trees of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The site has been under restoration since 2005. The programme aims to make the Cinquantenaire a Brussels “Central Park” within the European quarter, a high-quality green space with many uses.