Brussels Park lies on the site of the gardens of the former Palace of Coudenberg, which had been used since the Middle Ages as a hunting ground by the Dukes of Brabant.

These grounds were divided into two parts: a large park known as the Warande (game reserve), which extended, towards the end of the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, as far north as the Rue de Louvain/Leuvensestraat and south as the ramparts at the Namur Gate; and a small park, located in the Koperbeek valley, between the back of the palace and the Sonian Forest.

With its water basins, fountains, imitation rock caves and numerous statues, this Warande Park, as Governor-General Maria Elisabeth of Austria would have known it, was one of the most beautiful in Europe.

[8] Georg Adam von Starhemberg, minister plenipotentiary to Empress Maria Theresa, suggested placing it before the ruins that had been levelled for the occasion.

[3][12] This park resolutely marked a break with the past, everything having been flattened and redone for the occasion;[13] 1,218 trees were felled to trace the new paths and another 3,284 were planted.

This marked the first major work of proactive urban planning carried out in Brussels to completely renew an entire district of the city.

Lack of money led the city to organise a public subscription, after which management of the park's maintenance was entrusted to the good care of the thirty most generous donors.

The results greatly exceeded expectations and the victorious patrons elected seven representatives to form the park's management committee.

The monumental neoclassical railings surrounding the park were installed in 1849, using public funding and based on the designs by the architect Tilman-François Suys.

[16] In the 20th century, a large number of buildings surrounding the park were demolished and rebuilt, sometimes without respecting their original appearance and swapping the painted coating for a white stone facing.

To the chagrin of the bishopric of Mechelen children and student actors gave various performances there: pantomimes, ballets, proverbs, burlesque comedies, as well as small operas.

The aristocratic society organised balls and concerts there and had a new banquet hall built against the existing building by the architect Charles Vander Straeten [fr], nowadays occupied by the exclusive French-speaking club Cercle Gaulois.

At the request of the City of Brussels, which was seeking to relaunch a breathless entertainment venue, the stage pavilion topped with an imperial dome and decorated with wooden trellises was rebuilt in 1913 by the architect Malfait.

Brussels Park contains around sixty sculptures, primarily inspired by Greco-Roman mythology, created by sculptors including Gabriël Grupello, Jan-Baptiste van der Haeghen [nl], Laurent Delvaux, François-Joseph Janssens [fr], Gilles-Lambert Godecharle, Thomas Vinçotte and Jean-Michel Folon.

The oldest, for the most part, come from the park of the Castle of Tervuren [nl] from which they were moved at the time of the death of its owner, Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.