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Shopping is one of the most popular activities undertaken by holidaymakers when they travel around Europe, and Brussels attracts its fair share of overseas “shoppers in-the-know”, aware of the capital’s fashion and design heritage and its many trendy districts.
The buzzing Dansaert district, an area of avant-garde designers and fashion boutiques, is where established and up-and-coming Belgian creators show off their clothes and accessories. From the subtly stylish to the flashy, or the sexy to the romantic, you’ll find every shape and style here with a growing list of modern designers already here or moving to the area.
The St Jacques district, generally better known for the Mannekin-Pis and its comic strip walls, has a bit of everything from cool fashion to vintage, arty gadgets to second-hand books, comic strips to music. Diversity is key to this part of town, which nonchalantly mixes styles and tastes.
A microcosm of elegance and grandeur awaits you near the Grand Place at the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, one of the most prestigious covered passageways in Europe, where luxury fashion designers, leather goods boutiques, interior designers and jewellers mingle with restaurants, a cinema and even a theatre.
Kaat Tilley, a graduate of the Saint-Luc school in Brussels permeates the atmosphere with her supernatural lightness of touch and her heavenly designs, while Maroquinerie Delvaux, purveyor to the Royal Court, supplies some of the finest leathers in town.
The Sablons and the Marolles district is a paradise for lovers of antiques and objets d’art. Chosen in the 17th century by the great families of the nobility, the Sablons is today still one of the city’s most affluent areas. In the shadow of the beautiful Eglise Notre-Dame du Sablon, you’ll enjoy the quality of prestige and grandeur on offer: antique dealers galore, divine restaurants, internationally-famous fashion designers, jewellers, gallery owners and well-known interior decorators. There is also a small antiques market, and the area is home to some of the best master chocolate-makers and confectioners in Brussels.
Lower down, les Marolles is where the Bruxellois like to lounge about on a Sunday, when the early morning sunshine lights up the Place du Jeu de Balle and its famous flea market, or rummage through the vintage boutiques, discount stores, interiors shops and design galleries that have flourished in this legendary quarter. The Avenue Louise area, which in contrast is lined with art nouveau town houses, has become the muse of designers and is one of the capital’s most attractive shopping areas. Belgian and new labels take precedence, but international labels are also very widely represented.
Opposite boulevard de la Toison d’Or is boulevard de Waterloo, which has become indisputably the most stylish in the capital with the biggest houses taking up residence, from Gucci to Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Yves Saint Laurent, Tod’s and Gianni Versace.
Perpendicular to the Avenue Louise, between the Bois de la Cambre and the Palais de Justice, you will come across rue du Bailli, gateway to a very special district, the Quartier du Châtelain, which on Wednesday afternoons becomes the setting for the trendiest market in the capital.
Three parts of the city that are symbolic of an international capital are Rue de Namur, Matongé and Saint-Boniface in the Flagey district combining the smart and very conservative ambience of the royal quarter, and the lively and friendly ambience of cultural Ixelles.
Rue de Namur begins on the site of the old Palais de Bruxelles, which was burned down in 1731, and gathers some real gems of Belgian and international design. On the other side of the boulevard, along chaussée d’Ixelles, are the colourful stalls of Matongé, a real mix of flavours and shimmering colours which owes its name to the liveliest part of Kinshasa. The heart of Saint-Boniface is an art nouveau district with beautiful gems by architect Ernest Blérot and which has now become part of the trendy landscape of the capital. Locals like to hang out at l’Ultime Atome, a bar restaurant, which is supposed to have the best looking waiters and waitresses in town.
Even the area around the European quarter has its trendy side. The Cinquantenaire is a leafy green haven between the European district and the middle-class suburbs of the capital, where Hergé, Tintin’s creator, grew up. The nearby rue de Tongres and its two arcades offers the full range of every imaginable kind of store and small shop. And when it’s time for a break, you can make the most of the many cafés and restaurants in the area, such as legendary ice-cream parlour Les Délices de Capoue which serves over 30 delicious icy flavours, or the very Belgian Le Pain Quotidien for its organic bread, light lunches and satisfying brunches.
For more information on shopping in Brussels visit the Belgian Tourist Board.
For deals on short city breaks in Brussels visit Cox and Kings.
