The London Lounge

Good morning,

this afternoon i am going to Bruxelles for two days. Any suggestions for sartorial, cultural and gastronomical delights?

Thank you

Oliver

Things to do in Brussels:

1. Dine at Comme Chez Soi - although I would recommend avoiding the politicians that frequent the place.
2. Visit the Horta museum - if you're a fan of Art Nouveau architecture, it should please.
3. Have a peek inside the Museum of Fine Arts - well it's two museums really, one is the museum of ancient arts and the other the museum of modern art - the former has the "Landscape with the fall of Icarus" by Bruegel the Elder.

Things not to do in Brussels:
1. Visit the EU Parliament
2. Visit the Chocolate Museum
3. Visit the Brewery Museum

I hope I've caught you before you started your travels.

I couldn't find any sartorial highlights but have other thoughts to share. Everyone goes to the Grand Place and so should you. But a lesser known and posher square is Le Grand Sablon. There you should have a chocolat chaud at Cafe Wittimer, which is THE best hot chocolate in all of Belgium. Their croissants aren't bad either.

Chocolatiers to visit include Wittimer, Pierre Marcolini (the first to specialize in region specific chocolate and at several varying percentages of cacao), and Neuhaus. At each, ask for the chocolates made of creme fraiche, which you cannot get in the United States.

We ate at over a dozen restaurants and my only conclusion is that it is hard to get a bad meal in Brussells.

If you have the time, take a side trip to Bruge, which is an absolutely beautiful medieval town with some wonderful restaurants, a nunnery that Churchill painted in, and some world class chocolatiers.