Pairi Daiza a wonderful royal destination

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In 2014, president Xi Jinping of China and his wife Peng Liyuan opened the new panda pavillion in Pairi Daiza in Brugelette. They were on an official visit to Belgium.  King Philippe of Belgium and Queen Mathilde accompanied them. 

On 11 July 2015, King Philippe of Belgium, Queen Mathilde of Belgium and their children: Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore visited Pairi Daiza. More about the royal visit on this link. 

It took a while but on 17 august 2020, during my staycation, I finally could visit Pairi Daiza. It is a wonderful park with amazing gardens and buildings, however it was way too busy. Especially during Covid-19 time.  Pairi Daiza also has a very nice and long royal history.


History


In 1148, the Abbot of Clairvaux, Bernard (who became later Saint Bernard) sent twelve monks to Cambron after an invitation of Anselm of Trazegnies, who had offered them land at the edge of the river Dender.  After the abbey was dissolved, the family of the counts of the Val de Beaulieu purchased the property and built a castle, which remained in the family until it was purchased by the Domb family, who founded the park. The entire area has been protected since 1982. 




In 1993, the Zoo was opened under the name Paradisio. And the park started  growing. In 2001, it opened the Nautilus (aquarium), the Madidi Islands and Nosy Komba. In 2009, Pairi Daiza opened Kingdom of Ganesha, an Indonesian themed garden.

Since 2014, Pairi Daiza hosts a couple of two giant pandas that are on a loan from China for 15 years. 




Gardens

As a garden lover I liked the gardens especially the Chinese themed garden called 'The Dream of Han Wu Di" which opened in 2006. There also is a Rose garden with more than 700 varieties of roses from around the world.  And of course, I really loved the Andalusian garden which is inspired by
Moorish patios and the palaces of Spain. 






Conclusion

Although I don't like Zoos in general, Pairi Daiza really makes a difference due to the gardens and the different themes.  The only concern I had in 2020 were the Covid-19 rules. Yes, Pairi Daiza is a
big park but the walking paths were too small for the amount of people that  were visiting the park that day. That was a bit pity. 

However, on a quiet day (not during the holidays) I certainly want to come back to the park in a relaxed way. It's really worth to pay a visit.  





Own pictures taken on 17 August 2020
Location: Brugelette, België

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