Le Botanique, Neoclassical orangery and cultural center in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Belgium.

Le Botanique is a long, low neoclassical building of pale stone in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, centred on a round, glass-domed hall with a green copper roof. The dome tops a colonnaded rotunda with tall windows between the columns; symmetrical wings extend left and right, one with a pillared portico, the other a long glasshouse range with slatted shading. Wide stone steps lead up to the rotunda, flanked by low stone walls and rows of green bronze statues.

The building was constructed between 1826 and 1829 by architects Tilman-François Suys and Pierre-François Gineste during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands period. Its creation marked an important moment for the development of botanical collections in European cities.

The Witloof Bar, a vaulted cellar, takes its name from the Dutch word for chicory, which was first cultivated there; for nearly twenty years it hosted Marion's Lundi-Théâtre evenings, over five hundred of them. During the spring Les Nuits Botanique festival, a 1,500-seat marquee is pitched in the park facing the building.

Le Botanique stands on rue Royale in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, beside Botanique metro station (lines 2 and 6), tram stops for lines 92 and 93 and bus line 61; Brussels-North and Congrès stations are also close. The entrance is reached from the garden side, where the lawns and hedges lie in front of the steps. The Orangery, Rotunda and Witloof Bar are separate rooms inside the complex, so check which one hosts the concert or exhibition before setting out.

The vaulted cellar now used as the Witloof Bar is where, according to the house account, the chicon (Belgian endive) was first cultivated; witloof is its Dutch name. The bar seats 100 and holds 200 standing, and hosted Marion's Lundi-Théâtre evenings for nearly twenty years and more than five hundred performances.