Brussels

[absolut]

anyone know any good boutiques, places to check out?

will be there for a week so have time.

[Clockwork_killa]

Haha, no!

Theres not that much in Brussels, Antwerp is much better and only 30 mins on the train.

What are you looking for?

Theres a good shop that sells APC and often has some really good deals, but its an absolute bitch to find unless you know the city, its in a really odd place.

Avenue louise is where most of the upmarket stuff is, but its your usual prada, gucci, insert italian luxury brand here type of affair, although there is a Thomas Pinks which does really nice custom shirts. Rue Neuve is the main shopping street, it counts no less than 4 H&Ms!! and has a massive shopping center at one end, other than that its not worth mentioning.

Bar wise, the nicest places are on place st gery, bars like Mapa mundo and Roi des Belges are really chill, but not particularly cheap. Delirium near the grand place serves the most variety of beers in pretty much anywhere (it was in the guinnes record book), so thats a good place to go if you like that sort of thing. Word of warning though, while it used to be a fairly well kept secret it has since made its way into every guide book under the sun and is now usually full of drunk college jocks (not fun). There are some good clubs like Fuse (well it used to be, I dont know anymore), but they can somtimes be quite hard to get into, especially if you cant speak french. Avoid the small clubs like Planet on the street with all the kebab shops, they are really dodgy, the kebab shops are great though, try a durum falafel, tasty shit!

Go and have a look at the atomium, its truly weird, bit of a treck to get to though.

Best tip I can give you is to buy a week or a ten journey metro card (its valid for all public transport) otherwise itll be really expensive.

I have to say my information is a little rusty as I only make it back there a few times a year now, and stuff has changed since I lived there permanently.

If you have any specific questions let me know and Ill try and give you an answer, I lived there for 18 years so Im fairly well acquainted with the place.

[absolut]

going for business. so got a per diem

let me know of some cool restaurants, bars

i know of fuse its still good

shopping is out of the question i suppose, doubt ill have time to go antwerp

[Clockwork_killa]

Good restaurants and bars I can do.

Like I already said, Roi des belges, Mapa Mundo, Les Halles St Gery all on place St Gery near the bourse, thats the trendy bar area, plenty of other good places round there. Delirium on Impasse de la fidelite, is good but can be crowded and full of young american tourists that cant hold there beer. Fuse is good, quite a lot of people I know are fond of le you or U which is near the grand place on Duquesnoy. Have a look at noctis.com its a sort of brussels nightlife guide site.

Restaurants, Leon and Aux armes de bruxelles are great for traditional belgian stuff (steak, moules etc) theyre near the Grande place on Rue des bouchers, for the love of god dont let any of the million and one guys in the street drag you into one of their overpriced tourist trap restaurants. Theres lots of good places up near Place St Catherine, mostly seafood though. Theres a lot of nice places in ixelles/etterbeek round the cimetiere D'ixelles and the University (ULB) like Chez Marie and by the Place Flagey like les varietes (theres a really nice bar there called cafe belga which is always full of Art and architecture Students). Comme chez soi is often rated as one of the best in Brussels, not cheap though.

If I can think of any others Ill let you know.

[readytoignite]

stijl is a great boutique in brussels, they have one main store on antoine dansaert (one of the major shopping streets) with flemish and european designers and also run a margiela-only boutique around the corner (ask for directions). the viewpoint at the main boutique is a little more "european" than what you'd find in antwerp (maybe comparable to a more edited verso i suppose) but it's definitely worth a stop by.

[Clockwork_killa]

stijl is a great boutique in brussels, they have one main store on antoine dansaert (one of the major shopping streets) with flemish and european designers and also run a margiela-only boutique around the corner (ask for directions). the viewpoint at the main boutique is a little more "european" than what you'd find in antwerp (maybe comparable to a more edited verso i suppose) but it's definitely worth a stop by.

I cant say that margiela etc is my thing, but Im still surprised Ive never come across it, where abouts is it on dansaert?

[aan den rijn]

You like chocolate? Galler and Neuhaus are fucking amazing and they are like, right next to each other near L'Hotel de Ville.