Destination Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is like savouring a delicious hot chocolate that melts sensually into your mouth slowly revealing pleasures that tantalise and simulate your taste buds. It’s relaxing, yet has just the right amount of kick. 

This is a capital city that is tuned into its medieval origins, embraces modernity and sizzles with creativity. It was, after all. home to Victor Horta, the inventor of Art Nouveau architecture, and the surrealist artist, Magritte as well as Hergé, creator of Tintin. 

A sense of humour also flows through Brussels’ veins. A statue of a peeing boy, the Manneken-Pis, is one its most renowned symbols and comic strip murals are scattered around the city.

The Grand Place

My weekend started the moment I boarded Eurostar. Within moments I started chatting to some ladies, one of whom told me this was her first time and wasn’t looking forward going through the Channel Tunnel. The journey was so smooth and we were so busy talking that she didn’t realise that we had passed through it. 

Another one of the group cracked open a bottle of champagne and kindly asked me to join them. Ah, the good life!  What better way to arrive in Brussels, a city that dribbles with bon vivant.

On Saturday afternoon, the rue Antoine Dansaert’s fashion boutiques were buzzing. This is where you can pick up some unusual pieces by Belgium’s cutting-edge designers such as Annemie Verbeke and Nicolas Woit. Also check out Hoet, this optic shop specialises in out-of-the-ordinary frames. This street and the surrounding area are peppered with interesting, quirky shops. From vintage to baroque to established European brands, you can while away hours here.

Manneken-Pis

One of my favourite stores is Hunting and Collecting, on rue des Chartreux, where culture mingles with contemporary fashion. When I saw Parisians shopping there, I knew I was on to a good thing. 

Avenue Louise and Boulevard de Waterloo are also good hunting grounds, but they tend to have a cluster of the usual upscale international brands you can find anywhere. Rue Neuve is dominated by chain stores. 

After all the hard work of flexing the credit card, it was time for some light refreshment and so it was off to Place du Grand Sablon. At the weekend there is an antiques market at the centre of the square. There is also a beautiful church as well as chic boutiques, wonderful pavement cafés – the ideal spot for people watching – and scrumptious chocolate shops. 

You couldn’t be in the city of chocolate and not have a fix. Pierre Marcolini is good. I’m also a fan of Laurent Gerbaud, especially the dark chocolate 70 per cent which is based on a couverture from Domori, a company famed for its quality. 

Brussels has a reputation as one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities and also for its friendliness. I was told a conversation at one table in a bar or restaurant can easily be picked up at the next. Yes, it does happen. At the Belga Queen, a former bank and now one of the city’s finest restaurants (the seafood is superb), a gentleman from Uzbekistan who, within seconds of sitting down, was only too happy to discuss life etc. 

Galeries Royales St Hubert

For me Sunday mornings should be lazy, so what better way to see the sights than by taking the hop-on-hop-off tour on the ubiquitous red bus. Although you can walk to most places, you do get a brief history and explanation of the main districts of Brussels and you probably see a bit more. 

No matter how many times you see Brussels’s historic landmark, the Grand Place fringed by the impressive Town Hall, decorated with statues, and guild houses in an eclectic mix of architectural styles, it never fails to impress. 

Saunter through the elegant Galeries Royales St Hubert, Europe’s first indoor shopping mall built in 1847, which is nearby. Meander along the surrounding cobbled streets, eat a waffle, sip a beer, indulge in some mussels or buy some frites on a street corner. 

If you want culture, the city has around a 100 museums which will keep you well and truly occupied.

On Monday, there was time to take a walk in Parc de Bruxelles, one of Brussels's many green areas, and then enjoy the pleasure of getting lost in some of the city’s side streets where I discovered more of the city's eccentricities and surrealism. A delicious lunch at the trendy Bonsoir Clara was a fitting end to the perfect weekend.

By Daralyn Danns

Getting there

Eurostar (eurostar.com) – best rates visit website

I stayed at The Dominican (carlton.nl/the-dominican-hotel-brussel). For best rates visit website

For more information on Brussels see (visitflanders.com)

First published in All About Hair (All About Hair UK), the travel and lifestyle blog with a luxury twist