The Greater Ring or Intermediate Ring in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

( French: ''Moyenne Ceinture'',

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Middenring'') is a set of roads in the shape of a ring, intermediate between the Small Ring and the main

Brussels Ring The Brussels Ring ( Dutch: ''Grote ring rond Brussel'', French: ''Ring de Bruxelles'') numbered R0, is a ring road surrounding the city of Brussels as well as other smaller towns south of Brussels. It is about long, with 2 or 3 lanes in each direc ...

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

. The greater part of this set of roads is numbered R21 and is about 30 km long, compared to 8 km for the Small Ring and 80 km for the main Ring. It crosses two highways ( A12 and E40-east) and offers a connection to the A10/E40-west at Basilique/Basiliek via Avenue Charles Quint/Keizer Karellaan, to the A12 at Gros Tilleul/Dikke Linde, to the E19-north and N22/A201 at Leopold III via Boulevard Léopold III/Leopold III-laan, to the A3/E40-east at Reyers, to the

E411 European route E411 is a European route in Belgium and France connecting Brussels to Metz via Namur and Arlon. The E411 starts in the municipality of Auderghem alongside the Beaulieu metro station, crosses the municipality on a viaduct, then cro ...

at Arsena(a)l via Boulevard du Triomphe/Triomflaan and to the E19-south at Paepsem via Boulevard Industriel/Industrielaan. This road passes through tunnels (Boileau tunnel, Montgomery tunnel, Georges Henri tunnel), on bridges and viaducts (e.g. Diamant viaduct, Teichmann bridge and Van Praet bridge) and under bridges and viaducts (e.g. Luttre bridge). Among those bridges, 7 are used to cross railroads and 2 are used to cross the

Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal The Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal (commonly named in various ways including Willebroek Canal and Brussels-Willebroek canal), is a canal in Belgium linking Brussels with the Scheldt river and ultimately the sea. The 28 km long canal has a ...

. Tunnels and the Diamant viaduct are used to avoid crossroads. The Greater Ring runs along many parks: the

Royal Domain Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

, the

Josaphat park Josaphat Park (french: Parc Josaphat, nl, Josaphatpark) is a public park of located in the municipality of Schaerbeek in Brussels, Belgium. The football stadium that was formerly used by the K.V.V. Crossing Elewijt lies on the north-western c ...

, the Forest park, the

Astrid park Astrid Park (french: Parc Astrid, nl, Astridpark) is an urban public park in the municipality of Anderlecht in Brussels, Belgium. The park was inaugurated on 13 August 1911 and was named the / ("Meir Park") until 1935, when the mayor of Ander ...

, the Scheutbos park, the Elisabeth park, the Jeugdpark and the

Laeken park () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the Belgian postal code: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a se ...

. It also crosses the Bois de la Cambre. The road goes through 14 municipalities out of the 19 which form the

Brussels Capital Region Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

: City of Brussels,

Schaerbeek (French and archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and S ...

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Woluwe-Saint-Lambert () or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe ( Dutch, ) is one of the nineteen municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached, semi-detached and terraced hou ...

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Woluwe-Saint-Pierre () or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by Etterbeek, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, as well as th ...

Etterbeek Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

Ixelles (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, Saint-Gilles (only when riding clockwise), Anderlecht,

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

Koekelberg Koekelberg (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. In common with all ...

Ganshoren Ganshoren (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Jette, Koekelberg, and Sint-Agatha-Berchem, as well as the Flemish municipality of As ...

and

Jette Jette (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemi ...

Crossroads

The Greater Ring counts 15 main crossroads with other main roads in Brussels. Starting from the north and going clockwise, those crossroads are: * Gros Tilleul/Dikke Linde: where motorway A12 starts, leading to Antwerp via

Willebroek Willebroek (, old spelling: ''Willebroeck'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Heindonk, , Klein Willebroek, and Willebroek proper. In 2021, Willebroek had a total population ...

* Van Praet: crossroad with the Quai des Usines/Werkhuizenkaai (the road along the

) and the Avenue de Vilvorde/Vilvoordselaan ( N1 road leading to Antwerp via Mechelen) * Josaphat: crossroad with Avenue Chazal/Chazallaan located at the eastern end of the

* Meiser: crossroad with the Chaussée de Louvain/Leuvensesteenweg (

N2 road This is a list of roads designated N2. Roads entries are sorted in alphabetical order by country. * N2 (Bangladesh), connects Dhaka and Tamabil via Sylhet * N2 road (Belgium), connects Brussels and Maastricht * National Road 2 (Democratic Repub ...

) as well as the Avenue Rogier/Rogierlaan and the Avenue Eugène Plasky/Eugène Plaskylaan * Reyers: where motorway A3, leading to E40, starts; connecting to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

via Leuven and Liège, this is also the crossroad with Avenue de Roodebeek/Roodebeeklaan, Avenue des cerisiers/Kerselarenlaan and Avenue du Diamant/Diamantlaan; the Belgian national radios and televisions ( RTBF and VRT) are also located next to this intersection * Montgomery: crossroad with the Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan ( N3 road) and the Avenue de Broqueville/De Broquevillelaan * Arsenal/Arsenaal: crossroad with the

Chaussée de Wavre The Chaussée de Wavre () or Waversesteenweg (Dutch) is a major street in Brussels, Belgium, running through the municipalities of Ixelles, Etterbeek and Auderghem. It starts at a crossroad with the / near the Namur Gate in Ixelles, goes down ...

( N4 road) and the Boulevard du Triomphe/Triomflaan * Couronne/Kroon: crossroad with the Avenue de la Couronne/Kroonlaan * La Cambre/Ter Kameren: crossroad with the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, where the Greater Ring enters the Bois de La Cambre/Ter Kameren Bos * Vanderkindere: crossroad with Avenue Brugmann/Brugmannlaan and rue Vanderkindere/Vanderkinderelaan * Albert: crossroad with Chaussée d'Alsemberg/Alsembergse Steenweg * Paepsem: crossroad with Boulevard Industriel/Industrielaan * Dupuis: crossroad with Boulevard Sylvain Dupuis/Sylvain Dupuislaan * Prince de Liège/Prins van Luik: crossroad with Chaussée de Ninove/Ninoofsesteenweg ( N8 road) and Boulevard Prince de Liège/Prins van Luiklaan * Basilique/Basiliek: crossroad with Boulevard Leopold II/Leopold II Laan next to the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

Road names

The roads that form the Greater Ring are the following, starting from the Gros Tilleul/Dikke Linde crossroad and going clockwise: * Avenue Van Praet/Van Praetlaan (going southeast) and Avenue des Croix du Feu/Vuurkruisenlaan (going northwest) * Boulevard Lambermont/Lambermontlaan * Boulevard Général Wahis/Generaal Wahislaan * Boulevard Auguste Reyers/Auguste Reyerslaan * Boulevard Brand Whitlock/Brand Whitlocklaan * Boulevard Saint-Michel/Sint-Michielslaan * Boulevard Louis Schmidt/Louis Schmidtlaan * Boulevard Général Jacques/Generaal Jacqueslaan * Avenue du Congo/Congolaan * Avenue Lloyd George/Lloyd Georgelaan * Avenue de Flore/Floralaan * Avenue de Diane/Dianalaan * Avenue de la Lisière * Avenue

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

/Winston Churchilllaan * Avenue Albert/Albertlaan * Avenue Besme/Besmelaan and then Avenue Reine Marie-Henriette/Koningin Maria-Hendrikalaan (going northwest) or Avenue des Villas and then Avenue du Mont Kemmel (going southeast) * Avenue Wielemans Ceuppens/Wielemans Ceuppenslaan * Avenue du Pont de Luttre/Luttrebruglaan * Rue du Charroi/Gerijstraat * Boulevard Paepsem/Paepsemlaan * Avenue Frans Van Kalken/Frans Van Kalkenlaan At this point the Greater Ring is discontinued but can be joined via Boulevard Briand Aristide/Briand Aristidelaan, Avenue

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysa� ...

/Eugène Ysayelaan and Avenue Théo Verbeeck/Théo Verbeecklaan. Then the Greater Ring resumes: * Rue René Henry/René Henrystraat * Rue de la Compétition * Boulevard Maria Groeninckx De May/Maria Groeninckx De Maylaan * Boulevard de la Grande Ceinture/Grote Ringlaan * Boulevard Louis Mettewie/Louis Mettewielaan * Avenue Emile Bossaert/Emile Bossaertlaan * Avenue Jacques Sermon/Jacques Sermonlaan * Avenue de Laeken/Lakenselaan * Boulevard de Smet de Naeyer/De Smet de Naeyerlaan * Avenue des Robiniers/Witte Acacialaan * Avenue du Parc Royal/Koninklijk Parklaan

Public transport

The Greater Ring is extensively used by public transport. Between Boileau and Diamant, 4 underground

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

stations (Boileau, Montgomery, Georges Henry and

Diamant The Diamant rocket (French for "diamond") was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such, it has been referred to as being a key ...

) are connected by a tunnel for trams, which lies under the Greater Ring. This tunnel is used by tram routes 7 and 25. Albert underground tram station is also located under the Greater Ring at the Albert crossroad, where the tram routes 3 and 4 join the Greater Ring, route 3 stopping 3 stops later at Churchill whereas route 4 leaves the Ring two stops later at Vanderkindere. Tram route 7 (previously 23/24) actually starts at the Vanderkindere crossing and follows the Greater Ring up to Gros Tilleul (De Wand stop), only to leave the Greater Ring after having crossed the Royal Domain to end at Heysel. This makes it the route which drives the most along the Ring. Old route 24 also started at Vanderkindere and ran up to Princesse Elisabeth stop only to terminate at the next stop at Schaerbeek railway station. Route 25 joins the Ring at Buyl stop coming from Boondael railway station, follows it up to Meiser stop and terminates at

Rogier metro station Rogier is a rapid transit station in Brussels, Belgium, consisting of both a metro station (on the northern segment of lines 2 and 6) and a '' premetro'' (underground tram) station (serving lines 3 and 4 on the North–South Axis between B ...

. Bus route 49 follows the Ring on two occasions, first as it joins the Rue du Pont de Luttre at stop Wiels, coming from

Brussels South railway station Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgiu ...

. It then leaves the Ring at stop Veeweyde metro station, to come back at stop Peterbos up to stop Leopold I. {{Brussels topics Streets in Brussels