Explore Brussels.
Adobe Stock/iolab
Brussels is synonymous with the bustling Grand-Place, but there’s much to explore beyond one of Europe’s largest and most picturesque squares. The city boasts more than 2,000 restaurants, 500 art nouveau buildings (the architectural style began here), 200 hotels, 100 museums and, of course, 65 chocolatiers.
To dig deeper, we consulted Luxury Brussels, a new online platform dedicated to showcasing the capital city’s luxurious side through stories and guided tours, to poll local tastemakers about their favorite places around town.
Order pasta at Osteria Romana.
Osteria Romana
GUENDALINA LITTA
A highly sought-after events planner and producer throughout Europe, Brussels-based Litta recently published her second book, Dream Makers: Bespoke Celebrations.
Favorite Brussels Spots
Osteria Romana. At this restaurant, indulge in as much carbonara as you’d like — you can order the toothsome strands by the gram. It also serves other Roman specialties, like the spicy pasta amatriciana and cheesy cacio e pepe.
Floral designer Thierry Boutemy. Find fanciful florals at this Brussels shop. You might have seen Boutemy’s handiwork — he did the vibrant flower arrangements in Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
Enjoy a meal at Barge.
Barge
ONDINE & PATRICK MESTDAGH
The wife-and-husband team run a gallery in Brussels’ Sablon, an area known for its antiques and chocolate. The Mestdaghs are experts in non-European art and ancient culture.
Favorite Brussels Spots
Barge. At this relaxed gourmet restaurant, chef Grégoire Gillard and sommelier Barbara Hoornaert pay homage to local produce, building new menus daily around the latest haul of seasonal vegetables from small farms.
Tropismes Libraires. Set inside a former jazz club with stucco ceilings, mirrored walls and stately columns, this grand French-language bookstore in Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert lines its shelves with literature, tomes on the humanities and fine arts, and children’s books.
Follow the chefs to this gourmet market.
Marché des Chefs
SANDRINE DE MONTMORT
Brussels wellbeing expert, de Montmort launched the wellness website SandSab.com and has written several books, including Living to Learn, which debuted in 2021.
Favorite Brussels Spots
Be Clinic. This facility performs plastic surgery and non-invasive cosmetic procedures. De Montmort recommends the radio frequency treatment, which uses a device that combines multipolar radio frequency with pulsed electromagnetic field therapy to reduce wrinkles.
Marché des Chefs. The gourmet grocer is a go-to spot for chefs and anyone else with a passion for cooking. Open since 1986, the market prides itself on selling quality goods, including fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, artisan charcuterie, sweets, cheeses, wine and caviar.
WOLF. Peruse 19 stalls and two bars in the city’s first food hall. The street food offerings include wood-fired Syrian breads (My Tannour); savory Belgian waffles (Gaufres & Waffles); Ethiopian flatbread injera piled with flavorful meat, vegetables, sauces and spices (Toukoul); and more.
Hermès Brussels. Since 1837, this French company has crafted coveted clothes, accessories, shoes, jewelry, fragrances, makeup and more. Visit the Brussels outpost to get your own treasures in the signature orange box.
Go shopping at Maison Degand.
Maison Degand
EDOUARD VERMEULEN
The creative director of local fashion house Natan, the Belgian designer has dressed the royal families of Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Luxembourg.
Favorite Brussels Spots
La Villa Lorraine. An institution since 1953, the fine-dining restaurant is helmed by chef Yves Mattagne. To match the modern cuisine, it unveiled a new look in 2021 with pink velvet seating, bright paintings from Belgian Stefan de Jaeger and bold marigold frescoes from Brussels street artist Parole.
Maison Degand. This elegant boutique caters to dapper gentlemen with a well-curated selection of tailored suits and shirts, leather shoes, knitwear, silk ties and pocket squares. On the Maison’s third floor, a Bayer & Bayer barbershop doles out shaves and haircuts.
Take a chocolate-making class at the Neuhaus workshop in Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert.
Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert
MARIANO VANCLEVE
Vancleve is president Les Clefs d’Or Belgium, the local chapter of the elite international association of hotel concierges, and chef concierge of Le Louise Hotel Brussels – MGallery.
Favorite Brussels Spots
La Villa in the Sky. Sitting nearly 400 feet in the air, La Villa affords breathtaking views from the floor-to-ceiling windows that wrap around the fine-dining restaurant. Chef Alexandre Dionision offers creative plates as stunning as the view.
Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. A series of beautiful greenhouses with glass cupolas was designed in 1873 for King Leopold II at his castle. Some plants remain from the king’s original collections. Every spring, the greenhouses open to the public for three weeks.
Neuhaus Chocolates. In a country known for its chocolates, Neuhaus is a decadent treat. The family-owned company has been in operation since 1857, and it invented the Belgian praline and the ballotin, a refined box to store the Belgium-made chocolates.
