Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
downstream to the North Sea.
By the 1200s, Brussels—though tiny by today's standards—
was an important commercial center, and St. Michael's was the
region's religious hub. Still, most of the area inside the 2.5-mile-
long city wall was farmland, dotted with a few churches, towers,
markets, and convents (such as the Carmelite convent hugging the
south wall).
The model in the far end of the room shows the city a couple
centuries later—much bigger, but still within the same wall. By
this time, the Upper and Lower Towns are clearly defined. In the
Upper Town, the huge palace of the dukes of Burgundy marks the
site of today's Royal Palace (described on page 410).
Taste Treats on the Grand Place
Cafés:
Mussels in Brussels, Belgian-style french fries, yeasty local
beers, waffles...if all you do is plop down at a café on the square, try
some of these specialties, and watch the world go by—hey, that's a
great afternoon in Brussels.
The outdoor cafés are casual and come with fair prices (a good
Belgian beer costs €3.50—with no cover or service charge). Have a
seat, and a waiter will serve you. The half-dozen or so cafés are all
roughly equal in price and quality for simple drinks and foods—
check the posted menus.
Choco-Crawl:
The best chocolate shops all lie along the
north (uphill) side of the square, starting with Godiva at the high
end (that is, higher in both altitude and price). The cost goes down
slightly as you descend to the other shops. Each shop has a mouth-
watering display case of 20 or so chocolates and sells mixes of 100
grams—your choice of 6-8 pieces—for about €5, or individual
pieces for about €1.60. Pralines are filled chocolates—uniquely
Belgian (and totally different from the French praline). The shops
are generally open daily from 9:00 to 22:00 (opening at 10:00
Sun).
Godiva,
with the top reputation internationally, is synony-
mous with fine Belgian chocolate. Now owned by an American,
Godiva still has its management and the original factory (built in
1926) in Belgium. This store, at Grand Place 22, was Godiva's first
(est. 1937). The almond and honey goes way beyond almond roca.
Neuhaus,
a few doors down at #27, has been encouraging
local chocoholics since 1857. Look through the glass floor at the
old-time choco-kitchen in the basement, and check out the his-
toric photos on the walls. The enticing varieties are described in
English, and Neuhaus publishes a fine little pamphlet (free, on the
counter) explaining the products. The “caprice” (toffee with vanilla
crème) tastes like Easter. Neuhaus claims to be the inventor of the
filled chocolate.
