It took 20 years to restore. But the ancient Maison du Prieur (Prior’s House) on the edge of the Brussels forest is finally finished. And it looks gorgeous.
The white building was originally a cloister belonging to the 14th-century Rouge-Cloître priory in Auderghem. An old Gothic carving on the wall recalls that the painter Hugo van der Goes spent his final years here.
The long cloister is now occupied by a café and restaurant with tables out in the garden. You can drop in here after a ramble in the forest for a coffee or a beer from the little Bobbi eco brewery in Ittre. But check the opening hours.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
