24 HOURS IN BRUSSELS
Greetings from Brussels, Belgium.
As I told you in my previous post about the Stanhope Hotel, we only had a short 24 hours in Brussels so we had to make the most of it. While I truly enjoyed the Stanhope Hotel, in retrospect, I think a better choice may have been the Hotel Amigo. In researching where to stay in Brussels I had trouble deciding between the Stanhope and the Hotel Amigo. In the end I chose the Stanhope because it was about 100 Euros cheaper per night.
But, as we discovered after our short, 24 hours in Brussels, the Hotel Amigo is set among the narrow cobbled streets of old town Brussels, just around the corner from the very picturesque Grand Place, one of the most beautiful squares in the world. Like most European cities, Brussels is a mixture of old and new, ancient and modern. I found that I preferred the atmosphere of the charming old town over the more modern and metropolitan area where the Stanhope Hotel was located. In the end, the extra 100 Euros would have been money well spent, just to be near the Grand Place.
Walking into the Grand Place (French name pronounced: ɡʁɑ̃ plas), or Grote Markt (Dutch name) for the first time simply took my breath away and nearly brought tears to my eyes. I can’t explain with adequate emotion how unprepared I was for what unexpectedly emerged as we walked down a narrow cobbled street and suddenly found ourselves in this magnificent square. It took me by such surprise because you can’t see it until you are actually there.
Then, all of a sudden, this amazing square unfolds before one’s eyes. As you can see in the map below, the tiny pedestrian streets that lead into the square gives one no clue as to the grandeur that awaits. It is with good reason that this spectacular square is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The first thing I saw was the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). Accentuated by its bell tower, it is the most famous landmark of the Grand Place.
Built on the south side of the square in stages between 1401 and 1455, it became the seat of municipal power. The facade is adorned with many statues of saints and noble figures.
Today people go there to be married, as we witnessed on the day of our visit. After the wedding, these folks were actually drinking champagne and having a “Tailgate” reception right there in the square in front of the town hall.
From 1504 to 1536, in an effort to counter the symbol of municipal power that the City Hall represented, the Duke of Brabant built a large, equally opulent building right across the square from the City Hall. This building was intended as a symbol of his own power as Duke. Built on the site of the first cloth and bread markets, the building became known as the “King’s House”, although no king has ever lived there. The French speaking residents of Belgium call it the Maison du Roi (King’s House) but in Dutch it continues to be known as the Broodhuis (Breadhouse), after the market whose place it took.
Today it is the home of The Museum of the City of Brussels.
The museum traces Brussels history and also exhibits every piece of clothing ever worn by Manneken-Pis, the famous statue of the little boy peeing (more on that later).
In medieval cities, craftsmen such as textile workers, masons, carpenters, glass workers, etc. formed associations or fraternities based on their trades which became known as “Guilds”. In the late 1600’s, the Grand Place was all but destroyed in a bombardment from the French. So, wealthy merchants and their powerful guilds rebuilt the houses around the edge of the square. Each guild tried to outdo the other, and the results of their efforts are the beautiful, gold embellished buildings you see in the photos below.
It should also be noted that every two years in August, an enormous “flower carpet” is set up in the Grand Place. Using over a million begonias, colorful patterns are formed in a space covering 19,000 square feet.
It was hard to tear ourselves away from the Grand Place but eventually we continued by foot, exploring the quaint streets around the square.
Store after charming store lined the streets. Their windows, decked out for the holidays, were delicious eye candy, tempting passersby with their wonderful displays of Belgium chocolates and every other imaginable confection.
There are 2 things Belgium is most notably known for, chocolate and waffles, neither of which were in short supply here.
This store had amazing displays of Gingerbread Cookies.
Brussels is also home to an abundance of Michelin-starred restaurants which serve food inspired by both French and Dutch cuisine.
Steamed mussels with a side of famous Belgian fries (moules-frites) are not to be missed.
Aside from food, this lovely store featuring Belgian tapestries caught my eye.
But as my husband would tell you, no visit to Brussels would be complete without a visit to the famous Manneken-Pis. This little boy peeing, has for some strange reason, become Brussels’ most famous citizen. I am told he is an emblem of the rebellious spirit of the City of Brussels.
While he was wearing no clothing on the day of our visit, his wardrobe numbers more than 900 suits. The statue is dressed in costume several times each week from a collection of costumes that are managed by the non-profit association, The Friends of Manneken-Pis. As I mentioned previously, many of them may be viewed in a permanent exhibition housed inside the City Museum, located in the Grand Place.
Manneken-Pis, meaning “Little Man Pee” in Dutch, has many costumes that represent the national dress of various nations around the world. It is common for visiting dignitaries to gift the city traditional garb from their homeland. Others are the uniforms of assorted trades and professions, and many of the costumes are replicas of those worn by various branches of the military.
The changing of the costume on Manneken-Pis is done in a colorful ceremony, often accompanied by a brass band and singing.
After meandering the streets of old Brussels we decided to take an open-air, hop-on, hop-off bus tour around the rest of the city.
It was not a tour I would recommend, as it was difficult to take good photos from the bus, with its dirty windows full of glare. And the narration was difficult to hear through the poor quality headphones they distributed.
Instead I’d recommend the use of the clean, punctual, efficient and abundant city busses.
You could also take a carriage ride around the old town. We saw carriages for hire in the Grand Place.
While short, our 24 hours in Brussels was awfully sweet, in more ways than one! After all, who could possibly resist all that chocolate and waffles! As I close the door on Brussels, please stay tuned for my next post, where we will visit Brugge, Belgium, my favorite stop on our 6 country, 3 week visit to Europe.
So there you have it: 24 HOURS IN BRUSSELS
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