Jean Cocteau called that architectural jewel of the Grand’Place “the richest theater in the world.” A stage for public life since the 16th century and a triumph of the Flemish Renaissance, it is the dazzling calling card of Brussels, a city of endless aesthetic and papillary seduction. Capital of Art Nouveau, antiques, and great collecting, the Belgian capital is also ville gourmande par excellence; no other city has, as it does, as many as 120 streets dedicated solely to the delights of the palate. One cannot count the restaurants, brasseries (many vintage, such as De ultieme hallucinatie and La porteuse d’eau) and estaminet, the typical cafés that are privileged witnesses to Brussels history. One for all? La fleur en papier doré, a place deputed to the meetings of the Surrealists; among the habitués, even René Magritte.
LA FLEUR EN PAPIER DORÉ
A literary café? A historic establishment? La Fleur en Papier Doré (heritage-protected) is much, much more: the very symbol of Brussels’ cultural effervescence in the 20th century. It was here that the leading figures of Belgian surrealism, from René Magritte to Louis Scutenaire, and the artists of the Cobra group; the father of Flemish national poetry Guido Gezelle; and the famous cartoonist Hergé, father of the even more famous Tintin, gathered.
Today, as yesterday, at 55 Rue des Alexiens, people chat, eat a cold plate and, above all, drink craft beer among a collection of unlikely objects and a tapestry of sketches, drawings, paintings, and vintage photos.
MUSEÉ MAGRITTE
Painting? A tool for “evoking the mysteries of the world.” Word of Belgian René Magritte (1898-1967), the most enigmatic, elusive artist of the 20th century, author of mysterious and alienating paintings, heritage of the world’s collective imagination. Such as The Empire of Lights, which alone is worth a trip to the Museé Magritte (it preserves the two versions from 1954 and 1967), custodian of the world’s largest collection of works by the surrealist genius: more than 200 masterpieces, alongside photos and films made by Magritte himself.
MUSEÉ ROYAL D’ART ANCIEN
A breathtaking parade of capital works by the giants of Flemish painting: Rogier van der Weyden and Petrus Christus, Hugo van der Goes and Dietrick Bouts, Hans Memling and Pieter Brueghel the Elder with a masterpiece such as the Fall of Icarus (c. 1558), considered among the seven wonders of Belgium.
Here also a collection of Dutch Baroque painting (Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt) among the most important outside the Netherlands and Jacques-Louis David’s celebrated Death of Marat (1793), a manifesto of neoclassical painting.
BRASSERIE DE L’OMMEGANG
The great classics of “cuisine de brasserie” in a classic contemporary setting with informal refinements, inside a 17th-century mansion that laps the Grand’Place. Here is the Brasserie de l’Ommegang, where you can enjoy the best crêpes flambées in the capital, perhaps seated in the splendid dehors overlooking the square whose scenic beauty is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Upstairs is La Maison du Cygne, a gourmet restaurant just relaunched by chef Dimitri Strasser.
PIERRE MARCOLINI
Pierre Marcolini is to chocolate as Valentino is to haute couture. In his boutique at the Sablon, plush and refined like a jewelry store, the Italian-born maître chocolatier, a former world pastry champion, unfolds his collections in a minimalist setting all crystals and black velvet. Here are the superfine truffles, the exclusive mini pralines, the small chocolate hearts in brilliant red, the fruit, chili, and spice chocolates of unparalleled delicacy: a perfect alchemy of sweetness, a true joy for the eyes and the palate.
MUSÉE HORTA
More than a thousand wrought-iron swirls, spirals and swoops, those bundles of dynamic curves trademark of architect Baron Victor Horta (1861-1947). Welcome to the house that the father of Art Nouveau intended as a personal home, the ultimate integration of architecture and furnishings.
The unifying element is light; a soft, blond light, filtered through stained glass windows, which bathes the house in an almost spiritual atmosphere, analogous to contemporary Symbolist paintings. UNESCO has declared the main Horta buildings in Brussels as World Heritage Sites: the Tassel (pictured), Solvay and van Eetvelde Hotels, which are open only for exceptional visits.
VAN BUUREN MUSEUM
Nothing has changed in the intimacy of this “maison de mémoire” since the patron banker couple David and Alice van Buuren lived there. Furniture, carpets, stained glass, sculptures and paintings by masters from the 15th to the 19th century (Bruegel, Van Gogh, Signac, Foujita, Max Ernst) have remained in place, forming one of the most perfect Art Deco ensembles in the history of interior design. Built in 1928 in the style of the Amsterdam School, the house became a museum in 1975. Today it is one of Brussels’ most secret and unexpected treasures.
AU BON VIEUX TEMPS
A small estaminet with a dusty Gothic atmosphere in an alley around the Grand’Place, where you can sip a signature beer on the decorated tiles of the bar or under an artistic stained-glass window. At Bon Vieux Temps, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
The maison recommends a Westmalle Dubbel, a dark Trappist with an intense, enveloping flavor, served in the typical “chevalier,” a beer glass a good 50 centimeters tall.
HOTEL MÉTROPOLE
A must if only for a Black Russian, the vodka and coffee liqueur cocktail created at the Métropole in 1949 by bartender Gustave Tops in honor of then-U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Perle Mesta.
The American bar is still the hotel’s pride and joy, a monument to Eclecticism by French architect and decorator Alban Chambon, who was able to blend the most distant styles-Empire, Renaissance, Art Nouveau-into a scenic mix.
ROYAL GREENHOUSES OF LAEKEN
They were the dream of Leopold II, the traveling king, who wanted a winter garden as a treasure chest of eternal spring. As a home for the rarest botanical species, tropical and subtropical, Alphonse Balat, Victor Horta’s teacher, created a citadel of iron and glass with fairy-tale charms: aerial domed pavilions, galleries, stairways, fountains, statues, enormous porcelain vases.
The first, striking expression of art nouveau in Brussels, the Royal Greenhouses in the park of Laeken (1875-1893) are a bold architectural marvel and an equally extraordinary naturalistic setting, designed by landscape architect John Wills. To preserve their delicate balance intact, the Greenhouses (among the largest and most jealously guarded in the world) open to the public only three weeks a year, between April and May. Keep an eye on the calendar. The show is not to be missed.
