Brussels

Chocolate

Leonidas, branches across the city, . very popular with the locals. inexpensive and good quality, at €5.05 for 250g.  edit neuhaus, branches across the city, . a bit more expensive than leonidas and a bit higher quality. very popular with the locals as well. it is also possible to get good discounts by buying directly at the shop outlet outside of the factory postweg 2, 1602 vlezenbeek, tel: 02/568.23.10 which is just on the outer limits of brussels, just a short walk away from the erasme/ erasmus metro station. prices can go as low as 10€ per kilo, however only the products that are specifically marked as having reduced prices are worth the trip, other products have the exact same price as in local shops.  edit marcolini, 39 place du grand sablon-grote zavel plein, . arguably the best belgian chocolates and priced accordingly. the country-specific products are difficult to find and quite worth the price.  edit wittamer, 6-12-13 place du grand sablon-grote zavel plein. another excellent chocolate maker.  edit chocopolis, 81 rue du marchã© aux herbes-grasmarkt between grand place and central station. pick and choose your favorite type of chocolates, all at reasonable prices.  edit maison renardy, 17 rue de dublinstraat, ☎ +32 02 514 30 17. a great boutique shop with delicious chocolate and friendly service. stop by for a cup of tea or coffee, and get one of their chocolates free with your tea. still peckish? you're able to bring a whole box home.  edit godiva, branches around the city. not very popular and quite pricey.  edit chocolate bars. for the frugal, you can buy 100-200 gram gourmet bars of chocolate in grocery stores for about €1 each. good brands to buy are cã´te-d'or and jacques, both are belgian.  edit

Wittamer

Another excellent chocolate maker.

Beer

Beer mania, 174-176 chausse de wavre-waversesteenweg, ixelles/elsene, . claims to have a stock of over 400 beers, but has been overrun by beer tourists. the stock is extensive, but quite pricey in comparison to gb, delhaize, or carrefour. beer mania is a great place to find out of the ordinary beers.  edit gb/carrefour. branches around the city carry a wide variety of beers, including almost all trappist beer. selection varies by store. the gb in grand place has a large selection and offers prices that are approximately a third of the prices in tourist shops.  edit delhaize. similar to gb/carrefour, but a tad more expensive.  edit match. another store similar to gb/carrefour, but has more of the unusual belgian beers including delirium.  edit cora, . two very large supermarkets on the outer limits of brussels. they have a much larger choice of beers than carrefour/ delhaize/ match and some very nice gift boxes but still with reasonable supermarket prices.  edit

GB/Carrefour

Branches around the city carry a wide variety of beers, including almost all Trappist beer. Selection varies by store. The GB in Grand Place has a large selection and offers prices that are approximately a third of the prices in tourist shops.

Chocolate bars

For the frugal, you can buy 100-200 gram gourmet bars of chocolate in grocery stores for about €1 each. Good brands to buy are Côte-d'Or and Jacques, both are Belgian.

Lace

Belgian lace. among the best in the world. several shops are located at the grand' place-grote markt itself. beware of some shops that sell belgian lace even though production was outsourced abroad. ask for a country of origin if purchasing around grand place.  edit

Belgian Lace

among the best in the world. Several shops are located at the Grand' Place-Grote Markt itself. Beware of some shops that sell Belgian lace even though production was outsourced abroad. Ask for a country of origin if purchasing around Grand Place.

Books

Brã¼sel, 100 boulevard anspachlaan, . right in the center and one of the most up to date stores when it comes to contemporary comics.  edit filigranes, 39 avenue des arts-kunstlaan. open 7 days a week. the largest bookshop in brussels, features a small bar/cafã© inside and quite often live music.  edit sterling books. one of the most popular english bookshops in downtown brussels.  edit pele-mele, boulevard maurice lemonnierlaan, 55 & 59 metro anneessens. maze-like, second-hand bookshop with huge selection of used books at bargain prices. a bookworm's haven.  edit

Galeries Saint Hubert-Sint Hubertusgalerijen

The world's first shopping mall, opened in 1847, is a light and airy triple-gallery enclosing boutiques, bookshops, cafés, restaurants, and a theater and cinema

Markets

Marchã© aux puces - vlooienmarkt flea market, place du jeu de balle-vossenplein. every day from 7am to 2pm. this flea market offers everything from the weird to the wonderful at rock-bottom prices.  edit marchã© du midi, midi/zuid station. sun 06:00 – 14:00. one of the largest markets in europe, with a strong north african influence. a great source of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the prices drop to dirt cheap by 13:30. also a wide selection of clothes and other items.  edit christmas market, grand place, boulevard anspachlaan and on vissenmarkt-marchã© aux poissons. late nov-early jan. 240 wooden christmas chalets line the streets looking like gingerbread houses, twinkling with fairy lights and covered with ‘snow-top’ roofs. the chalets sell a variety of christmas items, decorations, gifts and christmas season food including "vin chaud/gluhwein" mulled wine. activities include a skating rink, a ferris wheel, and ice dinosaur monster admission fees. brass bands, free performances and ice sculptures are also on display.  edit

General shopping

with GB supermarket at City 2 accessed from Rue Neuve-Nieuwstraat and Metro Rogier.

Very few shops in Brussels open before 10AM, and most kick off about 10:30-11AM. Many shops are closed on Sunday and Monday.