Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, please confirm event/venue details in advance.
Belgium : Brussels - January 2009 Country Code: Dial ++32 for Belgium
January is a great time to shake
off any post-Christmas lethargy
and get out and about in the
Belgian capital. The winter sales
should tempt visitors into
voyages of discovery around
Brussels’ famously chic
boutiques and design shops.
Those interested in art and
antiques – from art nouveau and
art deco to Oriental and African
paintings and sculptures – will
want to catch the Antiques & Fine
Arts Fair at Tour & Taxis on the
Willebroek canal, which runs from
23 January to 1 February. Dan
Colwell seeks out some culture
Getting around
Brussels Airport
Bus: The No 12 bus runs every 30 minutes between the airport and Rond-Point Schuman. The journey takes about 30 minutes. A oneway ticket costs €3.
Train: Trains from the airport run every 20 minutes at peak times. The journey takes 15 minutes and trains go to Brussels’ three mainline stations. Tickets cost approximately €2,80 Taxi: A taxi from the airport to the city centre will cost around €25-35. The journey should take about 25 minutes. Tourist information: The main tourist office can be found on Grand’Place in the city centre (tel. (0)2 513 8940, www.brussels.
ROYAL QUARTER
Decidedly upper crust and at the heart
of the Upper Town, the Royal Quarter
contains some of the city’s most
important political and cultural
institutions, such as the Belgian
Parliament, the Royal Palace and the
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts.
Shop til you drop – With its stately
institutions and museums, the Royal
Quarter isn’t the best place for serious
shopping. Luckily, it’s but a short walk
along Rue de la Régence, a continuation
of Rue Royale, to the wonderful Place du
Grand Sablon. This is chocolate central,
being home to both the venerable
Wittamer (6 Place du Grand Sablon),
chocolatier to the royal family, and
Pierre Marcolini (1 Rue des Minimes),
the innovative young pretender to the
praline crown. Close by, Ma Maison de
Papier (6 Galerie de Ruysbroeck) is a treasure trove of original Belgian
exhibition posters, old prints and photos.
Must drink – You’ll have to take a fairly
long walk towards the less salubrious
The city is served
by Brussels Airport,
located in Zaventem.
Train Trains from the
airport run every 15
minutes at peak
times. The journey
takes 20-25 minutes
and trains go to
Brussels’ three
mainline stations.
Tickets cost
approximately €2,80.
Bus The No. 12 runs
every 30 minutes
between the airport
and Rond-Point
Schuman. The
journey takes about
40 minutes. A oneway
ticket costs €3.
Taxi A taxi from the
airport to the city
centre costs about
€38. The journey
should take around
25 minutes.
Tourist information
The main tourist
office is on
Grand’Place in the
city centre (tel. (0)2
513 8940, brussels
international.be).
end of Rue Royale to reach it, but De
Ultieme Hallucinatie (316 Rue Royale)
is more than worth the effort. Its striking
turn-of-the-century décor transforms
the simple pleasure of having a drink
into something more akin to being in a
period movie. More prosaic (if a bar
offering 200 different beers could ever
be called that), Le Bier Circus (89 Rue
de l’Enseignement) is all exposed
brickwork and stripped-back
floorboards. This is definitely the place
to experiment – try such exotic brews as
Buffalo Belgian Stout and Achelse Kluis.
Must eat – There’s no need to stray
far from the museums recommended
above as they all contain excellent
restaurants. The menu at the Museum
Brasserie (3 Rue de la Régence, tel.
(0)2 508 3580), in the Musées Royaux
des Beaux-Arts, was devised by chef
Peter Goossens and features Belgian
classics such as steak Americain,
prepared at your table. Possibly the
most scenic restaurant in the city
is on the top floor of the Musée des
Instruments de Musique (tel. (0)2
502 9508), with panoramic views over
central Brussels and a satisfying take
on Franco-Belgian favourites.
Culture vultures – Until 27 January,
the Musée d’Art Ancien (3 Rue de la
Régence), one of the two galleries that
make up the Musées Royaux des Beaux-
Arts (fine-arts-museum.be), is putting
on Rubens: a Genius at Work, a special
exhibition of some 110 works that offer
a rare insight into the studio of the
Flemish Master. While you’re there, take
the linking tunnel to the Musée d’Art
Moderne, where the world’s largest
collection of paintings by Belgian
surrealist René Magritte has been given
its own dedicated gallery. Around the
corner from here is the Musée des
Instruments de Musique (2 Montagne
de la Cour, mim.fgov.be). Located in a
stunning art nouveau building, the
museum displays 6,000 musical
instruments, including a number of the
weird and wonderful saxophone
City lowdown
prototypes designed by the instrument’s
Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax.
Sleep soundly – Just off the Rue
Royale, the Hotel du Congrés occupies a row of tastefully renovated
19th-century townhouses. Situated in a
secluded corner of the district, it oozes
charm and elegance and is great value.
SAINT-JACQUES
The resolutely trendy area behind the
Hôtel de Ville contains Brussels’ most
fashionable clothes shops and, in the
Rue du Marché au Charbon, its best
street for bar hopping.
Shop til you drop – Stocking French,
Dutch and Scandinavian designer labels,
Privé Joke (76-78 Rue du Marché au
Charbon) tucks the men’s clothes away
at the back and has the women’s up
front. In-your-face streetwear by Girls
From Omsk designer Valéria
Siniouchkina can be found at Fresh
Kicks (23 Rue du Lombard).
Dance the night away – If pumping
house music and full-on electronica
are your thing, head straight for Le
Soixante (60 Rue du Marché au
Charbon). Otherwise, the
Beursschouwburg Café (20-28 Rue
Auguste Orts) is a cavernous old theatre
that pulls in a lively assortment of
hardcore clubbers.
Must drink – With its art deco glass
frontage and retro interior furnishings,
Le Fontainas (91 Rue du Marché au
Charbon) is as coolly glam as the crowd
it attracts. Nearby Au Soleil (86 Rue du
Marché au Charbon) is a more down-toearth
experience, a home from home
where locals come to meet and chat.
Sleep soundly – The tiny B&B La Casa
bxl has zebra-stripe furniture and
endlessly steep, narrow stairs and is a
great bargain in central Brussels.
MÉRODE
Located at the eastern end of the Parc
du Cinquantenaire and centred on Rue
de Tongres – one of Brussels’ best
shopping streets outside of the city
centre – this pleasant residential area is a magnet for diplomats, European
Commission staff and media folk.
Culture vultures – Virtually unknown
even among the Bruxelloises, the Atelier
de Moulages, immediately behind the
Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire (10
Parc du Cinquantenaire), is a studio
where large-scale plaster casts of
famous sculptures are made. Pop in for
a look at a workshop-cum-museum
that’s never less than intriguing.
Sleep soundly – The Monty Small
Design Hotel was
Brussels’ first boutique hotel. The
rooms are pleasingly understated and
effortlessly stylish.
Must drink – The outdoor heaters of
old-style brasserie Le Terrasse (1
Avenue des Celtes) make its popular
terrace a year-round favourite for an
eclectic mix of Mérode residents. To join
a truly Bruxelloise crowd over a glass of
Duvel or Westmalle Triple, head to Le
Petit Paris (2 Rue Charles Degroux),
where you can help the beer down with
portions of spaghetti bolognese.
Must eat – You can get good Chinese
food at Le Rubis (22 Avenue de
Terveuren, tel. (0)2 733 0549), but it’s
the Cambodian owner’s homegrown
cuisine that makes
this a real find. Try
amok: steamed fish in
coconut milk,
turmeric and spices.
Le Midi Cinquante (inside the Musées Royaux d’Art et
d’Histoire, tel. (0)2 735 8754) is an
elegant lunchtime spot serving excellent
pasta, salads and Moroccan-influenced
dishes.
ANDERLECHT
Spreading out westwards from behind
Gare de Midi, this district is home to
Belgium’s biggest football club, but has
a few cultural surprises in store as well.
Must drink – Many visitors would
argue that the highlight of Anderlecht is
the Cantillon Brewery (56 Rue Gheude),
one of the last brewers in Belgium to
make spontaneously fermented Gueuze
beer. You can take a tour
of the brewery and
end by sampling
some of its
impeccably
sharp, dry
fruit beers.
Must eat – The atmospheric Brasserie
La Paix (49 Rue Ropsy Chaudron, tel.
(0)2 523 0958) has been pleasing diners
since 1892. Under new boss David Martin,
the Franco-Belgian menu combines a
respect for tradition with modern flair.
Culture vultures – The humanist
thinker Erasmus lived in Anderlecht for a
while during the 16th century and the
house where he stayed is now the
delightful Maison d’Erasmus museum
(31 Rue du Chapître). It contains
portraits of Erasmus by Dürer and
Holbein and has a lovely garden filled
with the herbs that he studied.
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Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, please confirm event/venue details in advance.
