Located in the southern part of the region, it is bordered by Anderlecht, Ixelles, Uccle, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the Flemish municipality of Drogenbos.

It houses an Audi factory and a railway depot that is home to the Belgian fleet of Eurostar train sets.

The legend of Saint Alena, a young convert to Chalcedonian Christianity murdered by her father's troops for hearing mass at the church of Dionysius, also takes place in the 7th century.

During the period of the Austrian Netherlands, especially during the reigns of Archdukes Albert and Isabella, Forest prospered, thanks to the Abbey.

Three decades later, in the years following the French Revolution, the religious community was disbanded, the nuns forced to flee, and the buildings sold.