the Grand Place, in the very heart of Brussells, is a sight to behold. Flanked on all four sides by a series of buildings erected over the course of the last 600 years, it is a tourist mecca which appears on every postcard. In the small back streets that rise off from the square, there is a maze of bars, cafes and restaurants. Many are pricy, but on a summers day it is THE place to sit with a grande bier, watching the world go by. You can even get a stomach-busting cauldron full of moules avec frittes for something in the region of 450 BF (£7.50) - and it is worth cruising for a while to find the little extras some venues chuck in (beer, wine, salad, pud). When I visited on a Sunday, the square was home to the open air bird market. If you can get over the cruelty of seeing some of the most incredibly beautiful birds in the world crammed five or six to a shoe-box-sized cage, this is quite a spectacle. Many of the birds seem to be rare South American parrots and parakeets - which I thought were illegal in the EU. Entry, of course, is free.
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Advantages: Excellent location (only 5 minutes walk from the Grand Place), free wireless internet access Disadvantages: Fittings seemed well-used, rooms dark
Jul 15th, 2000
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