The European Parliament's new visitor centre finally provides a place to visit about the European institutions.
Upon entering the exhibition you are given a personal media guide which can be in any of the 23 EU languages. You then use this tool to unlock a huge range of different interactive elements throughout the exhibition. My favourite part of the centre however, was the 360° film which lasted about 10 minutes and immersed us in the Parliament action, while finding out about how it all works.
Definitely something to take visiting friends to see! It also has a gift shop and cafeteria, which is a nice place to spend your Sunday afternoon.

www.europarl.europa.eu/parlamentarium
Rue Wiertz 60/ Wiertzstraat 60, B-1047 Brussels
Belgium
+3222832222
Google map: bit.ly/xpX5JD

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From the outside, it has to be said, this grey- fronted bar with its forbidding doorman does not promise much. During the day people fill up on steak and carbonnades, soaking up beer with chips and just sit, placidly. But on Friday and Saturday nights groups start crowding in, and at a quarter to midnight, as if by some tacit agreement, everyone gets up on top of the tables to dance, to an infectious mix which could keep you going until 4am, providing you have the energy – and your wits – about you! Leave bulky bags and coats behind, and give up reaching the bar through the mass of bodies. It’s probably for the best anyway. A student favourite, and an exhilarating end to a day spent in chocolate, waffles and vin chaud.

www.lecorbeau.be/
18, rue St-Michel, 1000 Brussels
+32 2 219 52 46
Google map: bit.ly/AdUAUQ

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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Take refuge in Frederic’s shop, where you can revive flagging legs with a cup of rich hot chocolate. No instant stuff this; but basically just melted chocolate, including the speciality Fredericisime, with no sugar and just a little honey, that you might not like but will knock your socks off. Along with the large and imaginative chocolate selection there are hot chocolate spoons, chocolate spreads, and ice creams. I must try the “Belgian sunshine” - I like a chocolatier with a sense of humour!

www.frederic-blondeel.com/en/presentation/
Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai 24, 1000 Brussels
+32 2 502 21 31
Google map: bit.ly/x8SWpl

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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Founded in 1919 in Brussels, since 1942 Mary has been the chocolate supplier to the Belgian royal family. There are only three shops in the country, and the brand has
shunned expansion and stuck to its retro-style packing, discreet service and pralines named after Princesses past and present. This is about class, but there is nothing to be concerned about on price! Chocolates are still made by hand by around ten employees in a former armaments factory.
A browse through the brochure reveals that chocolates should be kept between 15 and 18 degrees, avoiding rapid changes in temperature. “In truth, however, our chocolates seem to disappear rather quickly.” You bet they do.

www.marychoc.com/
Rue Royal/Konigsstraat 73, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
+32 2 217 45 00
Google map: bit.ly/zyRZ1L

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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An after-dark venue that likes to think of itself as a bit of an oddity, Madame Moustache is a nightly parade of eclectic bands and shows – a cross between a cabaret and a village hall. One night it could be 80s kitsch, another night rockabilly, crazy Balkan or 50s jamboree. There’s probably nowhere else in Brussels quite like it. As for me, I like turning up fortnightly on a Tuesday to practise my lindy hop and Charleston steps to a live swing band; watching others in braces and bowler hats spin and shuffle in the mirrored walls, and ordering beers and cocktails from bar folk in sailor’s outfits.

www.madamemoustache.be/index.php
Quai au bois à brûler/Brandhoutkaai 5-7,
1000 Brussels
+32 485 53 44 94 ‎
Google map: bit.ly/tpW3Fm

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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Pushing open the door of this rickety townhouse you have become a child in a book, sneaking inside a mysterious attic. Your gaze fixes on piles of cardboard boxes, two enormous stuffed tigers and heaving wooden display cabinets as old as their contents.
There is a logic to the displays, but you notice that this is not applied rigidly. There are train sets, dolls, cowboys and Indians and piggy banks competing with model kitchens, tin
soldiers and wind-up ladybirds. There’s wood and metal, but not so much plastic. Teddy
bears can be found everywhere, along with wooden toys to climb on and plenty of corners
to play hide and seek. Through a window you glimpse a workshop where dolls’ limbs and
broken rocking horses hang, just waiting to be nursed back to life. Other children laugh and chatter away as they clamber on the exhibits, and the adults seek out their own childhood toys and rarer items such as a Noah’s ark, paper theatre or dolls houses behind glass. They’d say the only thing that’s missing is a coffee shop.
Then I stumble across André, the curator of the museum tucked in a room downstairs, working with a young apprentice. He says that as a father of six children, he found he was always packing and unpacking toys. The idea for a museum came automatically thirty years ago, and it has now been in its current location for 22 years. “It’s dusty, noisy and full of bric-a-brac”, he smiles. “But people still really like it.” The children will tell him that he has understood the interactivity part all right, unlike many other stuffier museums. “A toy has to be played with”, André says. Luckily it is easier to acquire toys that are a little worn, and that explains the 35,000 objects, the 700 or so teddy bears, the vaults underground and the crammed attic above. “It’s a lot of work”, says André of the constant tidying, unpacking and restoration, “but really it’s a pleasure.”
He’s even written a book about working at the museum, with a name strikingly similar to that of a famous film. Thinking about it, this place is the perfect setting for a film, if only the toys came alive after dark …

www.museedujouet.eu
Rue de l'Association/Verenigingstraat 24
1000 Brussels, Belgium
+32 (0)2 219 61 68
Metro: Madou or Botanique
Google map: bit.ly/vAouzO

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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In my neighbourhood there is a bistro sheltering in a former umbrella shop: it’s called Le Neptune. Each week there is a five course set menu listed on a blackboard, which I ate accompanied by a bottle of Bourgogne picked, after some deliberation, from two lengthy chalked lists for the serious-sounding connoisseur. The combination of choice and no choice was intriguing. I waited. It became clear that for the diners in this 25 cover restaurant, this was to be an experience to last the whole evening. As each course arrived, it was described to us at table by one of the young staff. We listened intently, and then dutifully savoured every mouthful, identifying the flavours of all the ingredients we had been instructed were present. And it was only a few mouthfuls before our well-presented, delicate dishes were dispatched! But then we had only to wait again, nibbling on delicious bread, wondering what would come next. If we were curious, we could walk through the kitchen and see for ourselves.
When I return a few days later, chef Nicolas is in the process of gutting a tuna. He’s forgotten our appointment, so I ask my questions while he prepares his fish: this way I’m learning by watching and listening. I discover that there is no English translation for the Lake Geneva fish I ate on my visit; that Nicolas’ favourite ingredients are seasonal vegetables; we debate the colours (and English translations) of yellow courgette, marrow, pumpkin and squash; and I try to persuade him of the merits of swede. He looks at me quizzically. Even if he doesn’t know my favourite vegetable I cannot accuse him of being boring. After all I enjoyed his mystery Geneva fish (Féra) with sage, melon and dill; followed by ray poached in bergamot broth; beef cheek with root vegetables; a quince compote and a chocolate mousse. “Why five little plates?” I ask, “Surely that’s more work?” “No, it’s more fun”, he says. “And this isn’t work!”
Nicolas’ weekly changing menu is all about delicate flavours: nothing dominates. It’s about tempting your tastebuds rather than overpowering them: “I like to take my customers on a journey through several dishes”, he says. This means no butter, no cream, locally produced food and organic wines – “fins et légers”, to match his cooking. This former wine bar owner is inspired by childhood memories, markets and eating round his grandparents’ table in the Haute-Savoie. And he dislikes too much formality: customers see him at work, sneak a glance in his fridge and wander through his kitchen.

The five course tasting menu costs 39 euros a head, not including wine. A three course lunch menu costs 25 euros Book at least a week in advance.

Rue Lesbroussart 48
+32 489 303 350
Google map: bit.ly/otdZWl

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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Once upon a time in Brussels, two chefs decided they’d had enough of working for someone else
and set out on their own. So, what did friends Stefan and Régis - those intrepid chefs - do next? They began selling homemade tarts and quiches from a cart at Flagey market, using recipes from their respective grandmothers. I wasn’t in Brussels then, but I know that I would have approved.
Over the last twelve years the tarts have moved inside from cart to shop, and some recipes have
evolved, but others have stayed exactly as they were, including the grandmothers’ Linzer raspberry tart and the frangipane. However it was the lure of lemon that first drew me into their shop on the rue de la Paix, and I am happy to learn that the tangy, creamy lemon tart and the raspberry Linzer one are the bestsellers! There is one other shop run by the friends, and a few franchises, but Régis says they have no plans (or scope) to expand outside Brussels.
It’s a good thing they enjoy it: Stefan and Régis get to work at about 6am producing their daily tart selection. Theirs is an enticing window display of chocolate, raspberry, apple and brown sugar – in mini tarts and larger versions for you to take away - or step inside to savour them all on the premises where they are made.

www.le-tartisan.com
Rue de la Paix, 27, 1050 Brussels
(just off Place Saint-Boniface; nearest metro Porte de Namur)
+32 (0)2 503 36
Open Mon/Tues 10:00 – 19:00; Wed – Sat 10:00 – 22:00

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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A great, traditional restaurant, just off the Grand Place. Classical food, great service and not touristy at all. Much better than the rip off joints in the Rue de Bouchers.

www.armandandko.be/
Rue des Chapeliers, 16, 1000 Bruxelles
+32 (0)2 514 17 63
Google map: bit.ly/qjMLak

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Summer may be over (if it was ever really here) but there is plenty to look forward to in the Autumn. I’ll be heading to the 2011 Biennial Art Nouveau event, taking place over the final four weekends of October, and this year with a special focus on Victor Horta (born 150 years ago). Visitors sign up for guided tours of Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings: this appeals to my interest in the architecture of this period, but also to my incurable nosiness, as many of the places featured are private houses not usually open to the public! Each weekend covers a different area of the city. You can either book a passport for a particular weekend, or buy a pass for the whole event. The website helpfully lists some Art Nouveau bars and restaurants to try as well.
The event is organised by voir et dire Bruxelles: a roundtable group of tourism associations – each with their own specialism and offering a variety of bus, cycle or walking tours in French, Dutch or English. If you miss the biennial event, keep an eye out for their themed tours taking place at other times of the year.

www.voiretdirebruxelles.be/biennale
www.voiretdirebruxelles.be/
2-4 Rue Royale, 1000 Bruxelles
+32 (0)2 563 61 51
Google map: bit.ly/obSjyQ

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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An Italian bookshop and cultural hub where you can peruse shelves of Italian texts and translations, and also pick from an huge list of wines from small producers in Toscana, Piemonte, Sicilia, Veneto, Sardegna to take away or drink in. In fact the owners “(gladly) travel all over Italy to find special wines that stimulate the imagination and the taste buds!” Piola Libri is particularly popular on the evenings when it hosts authors, poetry readings or groups of acoustic musicians – and will hold a re-
opening party on 16 September with band and DJ to mark the return-to-work in Brussels. The bar is known for its evening apéritif: breathe in and squish up for a glass of wine or Venetian Spritz and enjoy with some light appetizers on the house.

www.piolalibri.be/
66-68 rue Franklin, 1000 Brussels
+32(0)27369391
Google map: bit.ly/rf1yIc

Open weekdays 12:00 – 20:00 and Saturday 12:00 – 18:00, but often stays open later.
The bookshop opens an hour earlier on weekdays.


* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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“It’s not really a museum – or it was, or might have been”, muses Jan Bucquoy. I allow my eyes to flit around the room and take in his collection of wall collages. I see Napoleon, Michael Jackson,
Lenin, Hitler - all with brazen red lips and lacy fabric on their heads. Only Magritte’s head has an apple instead, “I thought that surrealism was already strange enough!” Chuckles Bucquoy. Moving over to take a closer look at one of the exhibits, I read the solemn notice:
“Please complete the aforementioned coupon and return it together with your pants.”
So here I am in Brussels’ anti-Museum of underpants, which has persisted in various locations since its creation in 1990, fanning the infamous reputation of its already infamous creator. Of course it’s an anti-museum because it doesn’t just represent dead things: the owners of some of the pants are very much alive! And for Bucquoy this is not art for art’s sake, it is reminding us that we all wear underpants, that we are all ... equal! Giggling aside, perhaps there’s some truth in the juxtaposition
of power and lace: stern portraits of Sarkozy, Clinton and de Gaulle all seem less intimidating with a pair of frilly ladies’ smalls on their head. And what of Bucquoy? “No, the Director doesn’t wear pants”, he says, mischievously.

This small sample of Bucquoy’s extensive collection is displayed in De Dolle Mol, a weathered Flemish bar re-opened after rising rents forced it to close; and now supported by the Flemish community, sometimes hosting musicians and cultural events. Linked to the liberation of women, the birth of the Flemish Amnesty International movement and the B-generation, this place has always been the home of dreamy revolutionaries and self-styled outlaws, and seems to be attracting fans from the school-age generation as well. On Thursday or Friday evenings you may even bump into Bucquoy.

21 May in Belgium used to be the day for Bucquoy’s mock “Coup d’état”. There’s no need for that at the moment, as Belgium has no elected government, no mandate for raising taxes, and for Bucquoy, things are working rather well. So his focus is on future projects: touring the Musée du Slip to New York or London; sending out another 1000 letters to solicit new exhibits; directing the second part
of his film “Camping Cosmos” (which will again feature Noël Godin, perhaps the original and most successful “entarteur” ever – cream pie throwing tormenter of public figures such as Bill Gates and Bernard-Henri Lévy). But, Bucquoy grins, “I always come back to the pants.”

De Dolle Mol is open Wednesday to Sunday from 16:00
Rue des Eperonniers 52, 1000 Brussels
Google map: bit.ly/p96Qus

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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There are many bars in Brussels trying to do something new and different. Some aim to re-create the music and surroundings of past decades, but there aren’t many places like Booze n’Blues, where you sense the owner’s nostalgia for his youth enveloping you with its dark red walls and jukebox.
References to Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, fraying momentoes and blues music wrapping you in a
cocoon: here it is personal, like a bedroom left behind in a family home and not touched since.
The jukebox will accompany your evening, when it’s working. Likewise Fakir Hindou, the fortune
telling box on the bar, might provide an erratic prognosis of your future for 20 cents. Two attempts produced the same result: “everything will go according to your wishes”. I’m not sure it’s a good thing to have everything you want!

Booze n’Blues has been family-run for the last 13 years. The owner lives upstairs. Downstairs you could almost imagine yourself somewhere in rural America. But the owner has never been. “There’s a meeting of blues fans in Los Angeles every year”, his sister tells me. "I’d love to send him there, but he doesn’t like flying.”

Rue des Riches Claires 20, 1000 Brussels
+32 (0)2 513 93 33
Google map: bit.ly/rcdCPW

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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A mix of simple wooden tables, utilitarian steel shelves and brown floral seventies wallpaper.
Delecta is another of my favourite small Brussels bars, an intimate after-work venue both in summer and winter, where you can share bottles of wine and plates of antipasti or huddle round the stove when it’s cold. There is a good selection of beer and light meals: more interesting variations on the ubiquitous croque monsieur, quiches and lasagne. Thursday evenings host the popular “les apéros
du Delecta”, complete with DJ.

Rue Lannoy/Lannoystraat 2, 1050 Ixelles
+32 (0)2 644 19 49
Google map: bit.ly/pkPES7

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Les Gens que J’aime is a short walk away from the Grand Place and an ideal place to pause
sightseeing for refreshment. It used to be another naff chocolate shop, but luckily the owners are faithful to their 60s retro theme: believe me, you don’t hear The Doors too often in Brussels! I liked going upstairs to the low-ceilinged gallery, where I ate lasagne off a psychedelic circle tablecloth and drank ginger tea from a dribbling teapot. The food is reasonably priced and includes bagels, meatloaf and waffles, which should keep you going at least until evening.

Rue du Midi 15, 1000 Brussels
Google map: bit.ly/qGWyXm

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A kitsch copy of a Lourdes shrine, a modernist housing development influenced by Le Corbusier, historic lampposts, a memorial to homing pigeon trainers, a hidden passageway Leopold II used to visit a mistress ... Nothing really really juicy, but I still revelled in a few oddities on my “Secret and Unusual Brussels” guided cycle tour. It was run by Pro Velo: a non-profit organisation set up to encourage cycling in a city prone to traffic problems. They offer a regular programme of themed public tours in French and Dutch, featuring cafés and bandes dessinées, beers and brasseries, the green belt around Brussels, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism ... And yes, intrepid explorer, you’ll see the city from a different perspective and cover more ground that on a walking or bus tour. I am particularly looking forward to learning about the mysterious history of freemasons in Brussels come October. For tours in English (or Spanish, Italian, German), ask for a quote for a 3-4 hour private tour at least five working days in advance. Choose from a good selection of themes “à la carte”; including “Brussels for Beginners”, “Magritte and the Surrealists”, “Art Deco and Modernism” and “Castles and Abbeys”. As with the public tours, don’t forget that you can hire bikes if necessary.

www.provelo.org
Rue de Londres 15, B-1050 Ixelles
+32 (0)2 502 73 55
Google map: bit.ly/p2yExp

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Tout Bon has occupied its corner of Place du Luxembourg since 1997. I like coming here for breakfast! There are various formulas to choose from: involving combinations of egg and bacon, bread, croissants and orange juice. Substitute tea or coffee for rich hot chocolate that coats your throat, and enjoy the French way dunking everything in it. They have a selection of delicious jams to smother your bread in: strawberry and blueberry, chocolate and hazlenut paste, Belgian honey and slow-cooked syrupy pears from the Ardennes. On weekdays in term-time you may find yourself in earshot of lobbyists, diplomats or Commission officials deep in conversation over some issue or other. Meanwhile on Friday evenings the square wakes up as young MEP assistants spill out here to relax after work.
The hulking monolith of the European Parliament dominates one end of the square. Wandering around it won’t reveal anything of what actually goes on in there, so I would recommend contacting your MEP some time in advance and requesting a guided visit.

www.toutbon.be/
Rue du Luxembourg, 68, B-1000 Bruxelles
+32(0)2.230 42 44
Google map: bit.ly/oJcXLV

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This airy former textile warehouse designed by Victor Horta was saved from sad decline and converted into an exhibition space and research centre. Adult enthusiasts of the bande dessinée will enjoy a couple of hours studying the various displays, showcasing different illustration techniques derived from etching, photography and pastel and acrylic painting. Pick up a folder at the ticket desk with information in English on the artists and exhibits.
There’s a series of pictureboards from the museum archives and a study library, reading room, brasserie and well-stocked bookshop. The centre organises themed guided tours, workshops and temporary exhibitions; but if, like me, you didn't grow up with bande dessinée on your shelves, you could probably do with some more interactive illustrator demonstrations or Tintins to clamber over. Currently it’s not really a place for young children or those of us with limited attention spans!

www.comicscenter.net/en/home
20 rue des Sables (Zandstraat), 1000 Brussels
+ 32 (0)2 219 19 80
Google map: bit.ly/qsUJSN

Rebecca is our Been there local for Brussels. You can read her page and tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp.
She has her own blog at: www.becinbrussels.blogspot.com

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Do not be perturbed by the sight of people emerging with armfuls of boxes from this unassuming little atelier. For the busy staff keep restaurants and and dinner parties well supplied with speculoos cheesecake and other delicious sweet and savoury tarts. I’ve spotted them all over the place – your party hosts will welcome them with a gleam in their eyes, others may try to pass them off as their own and restaurants will stay tight-lipped about where their desserts come from!
I particularly like the fluffy, light, lemony fromage blanc speculoos, the tangy tarte citron meringuée, the pêches framboises, the sucre brun, the barbecue quiche, the gourmand au chocolat … I’d better stop there. Perhaps they won’t travel well, perhaps you’ll have no dinner party to go to, but you can still enjoy one in the gardens of the Abbaye de la Cambre, a short walk away. The residential area around the abbey, Ixelles ponds and Place Flagey area is a good place for a wander.
A New York outpost of Les Tartes de Françoise opened recently, the first outside Belgium. Surely the first of many …

http://91.121.96.65/tartes/fr/presentation.asp?lg=UK
Hippodroomlaan 75, 1050 Brussels
+32(0)2 640 88 41
Google map: bit.ly/risXqD

Rebecca is our Been there local for Brussels. You can read her page and tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp.
She has her own blog at: www.becinbrussels.blogspot.com

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It’s a little bit odd looking into a giant aquarium, only to see – not tuna or sharks – but strange limbed beings in masks and flippers.
For once I haven’t come to gawp at fish. Did you know that Nemo 33 in Brussels is the deepest indoor swimming pool in the world? I didn’t, but recently I took my first ever scuba diving session here in the warm water, under the careful supervision of Filippo, one of the diving coaches. He patiently shepherded me as I practised sinking, hand signals, breathing, mask-clearing and trying to advance without rolling in circles according to the whims of my waistcoat. By the end of the lesson I was finally making progress, and we descended the rope down to the five meter bottom and peered through the glass windows trying to catch sight of the diners in the restaurant.

The Nemo pool is divided into various different compartments. Filippo beckoned us over to see down into the 10 metre area, and then I nervously sneaked a look into the abyss of the 33 metre pit. I could not see the bottom and was very glad not to be going down there!

My one hour introduction to scuba diving cost 45 euro per person, with a maximum of two people sharing the instructor. However there are different levels of courses available, not just in French and Flemish, but in English and other languages. All equipment (fins, masks, waistcoats and oxygen tanks) is supplied, and for hygiene reasons the only personal dive equipment you can use are your fins and dive mask. Divers not accompanied by an instructor must have a buddy and a dive computer. Certified divers pay 22 euro a session. Non-certified or those with less than a PADI Open Water certificate pay 30 euro. 15 minutes before your allotted time a bell rings to summon you to the changing rooms, and shortly before time’s up a bell will ring in the depths to tell you to begin your ascent….

Afterwards you could try your luck and have a drink or dinner in the Thai restaurant, with a view of the divers. However after 25 minutes of bubble watching without acknowledgement I was getting annoyed and hungry – so I gave up and went home!
I’d advise you to book well in advance and read the Dive briefing and other information available online.

Rue de Stalle 333 (Rond-point des Menhirs)
1180 Uccle (Brussels), Belgium
+32 (0)2 332 33 34
www.nemo33.com/en
Google map: bit.ly/nGICQJ

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