Category Archives: Hip Guide to Belgium

Whether you come for a historical tour, a religious pilgrimage, or a taste of Belgian culture, you will find a warm welcome in Belgium. The Hip Guide to Belgium offers highlights of the country, and contains many tips for making your stay here more rewarding.
The Hip Guide to Belgium  is your source for hotel reservations, tourist information, events, reviews, shopping and much more! Don’t forget to visit our Belgium Photo Gallery! Bookmark this site, and visit whenever you need to find out what’s happening in Belgium.
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La Brouette

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La Brouette

Grand Place

Brussels

Salles De Banquets & Reunions

‘A Votre Disposition’

2 Triple Westmalle Beers – 7.20 euros (290 Belgian Francs) including IVA and service.

On the Grand Place, in Brussels, is a café named La Brouette, where we stopped by one Saturday afternoon for a drink. The ‘Place’ was packed, with stalls offering regional food and drink lined up in the center, and of course, hordes of tourists and locals milling around. We had a fine view and listen to the drum and fife band from Asturias in Spain, tried in vain to get a plate of mussels in Brussels, and settled for a beer; here.

It turned out to be quite the psychedelic experience as we were taught how to pour beer. Properly. By the waiter, by example. He also explained that with live yeast beers like Westmalle, to never drink it all the way to the bottom. This way one avoids drinking the majority of live yeast, clumped in the bottom of the bottle, and also avoids indigestion according to our voluble waiter.

The interior is splendid, and is probably a wonderful place for a grand dinner on the Grand Place. Enjoy!

Mesnil Eglise, Belgium

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I moved from Brussels to the little town of Mesnil Eglise (yes, Belgium) and see from the 75 habitants half of them are old and new tekno-hippies. From the solar energy professor to artists and bio food producers all invite friends to spend the summer in the woods of the Ardennes. This makes a lot of people smokin’ and roamin’ the 3 streets of the village… The melting pot with the original farmers worked well out during the last 25 years.

Flea Markets and More in Brussels

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Belgium has been a center of the art world for centuries, and the flea markets abound with some amazing finds. Bring a flashlight to look thru dusty stacks of canvases, and a magnifying glass for checking out those ancient sterling silver or gold hallmarks. Generally be prepared to have fun, but you might get dusty and thirsty.

The antiques markets in the area of Place du Grand Sablon are the best, and offer a myriad of objects d’art for visitors on the maze of streets emanating from the square, and in the square itself. Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm, Sundays 9 am to 1 pm. Famous for antiques from the 1900’s thru the ‘30s and furniture especially.

Daily there is a Flea Market (the Marche aux Puces ) at the Place du Jeu de Balle, near the Palais de Justice. It opens at 7 am and closes around 2 pm, an early-bird type of thing.

Also for fun is the Boulevard de la Woluwe open only on the First Sunday of every month from 8 am until 1 pm. Then there is the Westland Shopping Center on Sundays from 8 am until 1 pm; and the Auderghem at Place Pinoy, also only on Sundays, but from 7am until 1 pm.

Just imagine what you can find here in Brussels at the Flea Market!