While Belgians may think that their capital is well on its way to being the recognised first city of a future Euroland, it is not in many people's Top Ten of destinations for a fun weekend. Brussels has pretty boring reputation. We Brits tend to think of it as inhabited by a vast army of faceless, overpaid Eurocrats, who spend their time dreaming up senseless laws to annoy everyone, while the Belgians have never escaped their dour image of people who eat 'mussels and frites', drink lots of beer and read Tintin comics. So it is a shock to discover that it is one of the Continent's best kept secrets: a vibrant, exciting city, seething with creativity. The kind of place where, for once, checking out the shopping, restaurants and nightlife will take a lot more of your time than the classic sightseeing of museums and monuments.
Walk into a shop here and people are already talking prices in euros rather than Belgian francs. The language they're talking might well be English, Spanish or Italian, rather than the official native tongues of French and Flemish. People here are used to foreigners, and are friendly, irreverent and welcoming. And whether you are drinking in one of the hundreds of bars, browsing in fashionable designer boutiques, wandering through the many flea markets or dancing to frenetic techno music in a nightclub, you are bound to end up getting to know locals who are better than any guidebook at explaining their city.
Any visit must kick off in La Grande Place, one of the world's most beautiful and grandest squares, lined with exquisite Baroque and Gothic architecture and dozens of fun cafés. Tourists then tend to head into the adjoining Rue des Bouchers, a narrow, cobbled street awash with neon signs, extravagant displays of lobsters, prawns, oysters and crabs, and waiters desperate to tempt in potential customers. Resist the temptation, and let the tour groups go on inevitably to the daft, minuscule Mannekin Pis statue. This is the moment to start discovering the insider's Brussels.
SHOPPING
1 Elvis Pompiello
60 Rue du Midi
Elvis is the King of Belgian haute couture hat-makers, and his stylish boutique has everything from pink sequined top hats to exquisite feather and taffeta creations. When he puts on one of his wild fashion shows, seductively-dressed live models sit in the shop windows, causing crowds to jam the pavement. Don't miss the outrageous pink interior of the hat store opposite, S2.
2 Chez Ramon & Valy
19 Rue des Teinturiers
At first sight, this colourful showroom looks like any other fun second-hand clothes shop. But banish thoughts of Oxfam, as these two young Spanish designers, Ramona and Valy, have their own craft atelier, and specialise in reworking cast-off garments into highly original one-off outfits. Fashion shopping only begins here, as just around the corner is Rue Antoine Dansaert, the home of cutting-edge Belgian designers, from internationally renowned Dries Van Noten, to local newcomers such as Nicolas Voit and Patrick Pitschin.
3 Bali-Africa
154 Rue Blaes
Rue Blaes is one of the many streets in Brussels lined with dozens of antique and junk shops. It is a bargain- hunter's paradise. Nothing, however, quite prepares you for this tumbledown warehouse, teeming with affordable collectables from Africa, Asia and Latin America, which is run by a genial Balinese, who speaks perfect English. You soon lose yourself in a vast warren of tiny rooms filled to bursting with thousands of masks, statues, spears, jewellery, paintings and carved wooden furniture. If you want more elegant, art deco design, walk up to Rue Haute, where two shops, Jacques Brol (number 202) and the adjacent Bruxelles Intimes, have an irresistible selection.
4 Sunday markets
Place du Jeu de Balle
It is easy to believe that everyone in Brussels devotes their Sunday mornings to wandering through the city's packed markets. Just by the Midi station, a dozen streets are overrun by what is called the Exotique Market. More Morocco than Belgium, it has noisy vendors hawking olives, fragrant oranges, fresh herbs and pungent spices. Over in the Place du Grand Sablon, a more chic crowd browse through expensive, but high quality antiques. But on the sprawling Place du Jeu de Balle stands what must be the ultimate flea market. Hundreds of packed stalls form a vast, chaotic myriad of bric-a-brac, curios, hidden treasures and pure rubbish. You'll end up spending hours sifting through all the wares.
5 Kaat Tilley
4 Galérie du Roi
The ultimate spot for chic shopping is the grandiose Galéries St Hubert, three iron- and glass-covered arcades built in 1846, which are a majestic monument to a time when Belgium was still a major colonial power. Smart families sit out on café terraces, the traditional Taverne Henri serves the city's best moules frites , while chocolate lovers from all over the world head for the stately showroom of the Neuhaus family, who invented the praline . But the most enticing spot is the mystical boutique of leading young designer Kaat Tilley. She creates dreamy, romantic dresses, presented in an equally fairytale decor. And prices are a lot lower than for something as original in London.
EATING OUT
6 Le Petit Boxeur
3 Borgval, tel: 02 511 4000
Dining out is one of the most appealing aspects of this eclectic city, and this is typified by the hip, new restaurant, Le Petit Boxeur, in the heart of the bohemian St Catherine neighbourhood. The decor is tasteful and romantic - candles burning everywhere - the cuisine an inventive melange of French and Italian influences. There is, for instance, a 'lasagne' of squid stuffed with tuna and mussels, or sautéed snails on a bed of stinging nettles with basalmic vinegar - all complemented by an impressive, if expensive, wine list. Booking is essential.
7 Lola
33 Place du Grand Sablon, tel O2 514 2460
This smart, airy dining room - all pastel colours and minimalist furniture - wouldn't be out of place in New York's SoHo, especially with its open kitchen, where the chefs perform their skills in front of diners. The dishes are equally innovative, including an incredible raw foie gras accompanied by a warm lentil salad, and duck roasted in mango. Great for Saturday or Sunday lunch, as it looks out over the lively, weekend Grand Sablon antiques market.
8 Hémisphères
65 Rue de l'Ecuyer, tel: 02 513 9370
This is the perfect spot for lunch after shopping in the nearby Galéries St Hubert. Be prepared for surprises, though, as you walk into what looks like an exotic harem salon with the feel of a Middle Eastern souk. Diners lounge on battered velvet sofas, waitresses rush between tables carrying steaming glasses of mint tea and huge plates of half a dozen different appetisers. The chef prepares most of the dishes at a huge table at the end of the restaurant, and his speciality is a great couscous.
9 Bonsoir Clara
22 Rue Antoine Dansaert, tel: 02 502 0990
Even if you reserve a table in advance, be prepared to wait a while, as Bonsoir Clara, in the middle of the fashion district, is the hottest spot in town now - the place everyone wants to be seen in. Luckily it has a classy cocktail bar in which customers can while away the time. The decor of multi-coloured stained glass is stunning, the atmosphere electric, and fortunately the American-style fusion cuisine is pretty good too. The best news is that this is one of the few spots open on a Sunday evening, ensuring a good end to a Brussels weekend.
10 La Tentation
28 Rue de Laecken, tel: 02 537 4547
This is a venue which completely changes personality between lunchtime and the evening. Entrepreneurs have transformed a cavernous abandoned warehouse into what is, ostensibly, a centre for Galician culture. You can do everything here: drink at the city's longest bar, have a cheap lunch buffet of Spanish tapas, enjoy a more gastronomic meal in the evening of specialities from Galicia, then move into party mode, when you'll see people on the dance floor doing the tango and the flamenco, and whirling to wild Gypsy violins and wailing Celtic bagpipes. Coming out onto the street, its hard to believe you're in Belgium!
BARS & NIGHTLIFE
11 L'Archiduke
6 Rue Antoine Dansaert
This is the best bar in Brussels, but don't expect to find it in many guide books, as loyal locals are determined to keep it for themselves rather than put it on the tourist bar- crawl circuit. Resembling a Fifties New York jazz dive, L'Archiduke is chic without being pretentious, though you have to ring an outside buzzer to be allowed in. The barman shakes a perfect dry Martini, and most evenings there are cool concerts by a fine jazz trio.
12 A La Mort Subite
7 Rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potageres
Belgians love drinking beer, and although the city has more than its fair share of ancient watering holes, such as A la Becasse, Au Bon Vieux Temps and A L'Imaige Nostre-Dame, the Mort Subite has become more of an institution than a simple bar. Nothing has changed here for a century - the prices chalked on huge mirrors, the wood-panelled walls yellowed with smoke, the primly dressed waitresses balancing huge mugs of foaming beer. The Mort Subite - or sudden death - is also the name of a beer, though the best beverage to order is a slightly cloudy 'lambic', light and freshly fermented.
13 La Fleur en Papier Doré
53 Rue des Alexiens
Brussels's most famous citizen was the famed surrealist painter, René Magritte, and his favourite haunt was this equally surreal tavern, whose name in English is the Flower of Golden Paper. Founded in 1846 by a religious order, Les Soeurs de Charité, this 'estaminet' - the dialect word for a bar - became a meeting place for painters in the Twenties. The three tiny salons are still decorated with scores of Dadaist paintings and surrealist poems hand-written on the wall. Apart from dozens of different beers, it also serves some fine wines and probably the best onion soup you have ever tasted.
14 La Java
31 Rue St Gery
After midnight, the Brussels nightlife can get pretty wild, especially in the dozens of bars that cram the fashionable St Catherine's quarter. The young head for the Bizon bar in Rue du Pont de la Carpe, live reggae bands play in L'Antrephil in the Rue du Vieux Marche aux Graines. But to get in party mode, kick off at La Java, which gets so packed that customers look as though they'll burst through the big glass windows. The barman doubles as the DJ between hurling the cocktail shaker up in the air.
15 Fuse
208 Rue Blaes
There's no lack of choice for late night dancing, but the one spot not to be missed is the Fuse. This is the mythical venue where techno music - Belgium's most questionable gift to the world - was born. Clubbing in Brussels is democratic, with few unpleasant bouncers vetting who is to be allowed in, cheap entrance prices, and drinks that never cost more than a couple of pounds, no matter how late it is. The Fuse doesn't really get going till after two in the morning. The best news of all is that there are three dance floors on different levels. The largest, of course, is for techno, but there is also one for house and another for chilling out to jazzy funk.
