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Five of the best shopping streets in Brussels

20:02 01/01/2018
Ready to hit the January sales? Here's our pick of some of the best places to shop 'til you drop.

Feel like refreshing your wardrobe, scoping out a few gifts or discovering a new fashion label? The Bulletin has gathered five of Brussels’ best shopping streets to help you shop ’til you drop. 

Rue Neuve
A pedestrian-only shopping avenue in the centre of Brussels, Rue Neuve is Belgium’s busiest shopping street with an average of 43,000 visitors every day. It’s home to many international brands – H&M, Mango, Primark and Benetton among them – making it a great place for expats looking to shop in familiar stores. Shopping centre City 2 sits at one end of the street, and is undergoing renovation. The volume of people can make shopping here a nerve-jangling experience at times; we suggest you do your shopping first and then escape elsewhere for a coffee.

Chaussée d’Ixelles
Chaussée d’Ixelles is Brussels’ second busiest shopping street, with 31,200 shoppers perusing its shops each day – though as it undergoes serious roadworks, there’s considerable disruption. While Chaussée d’Ixelles is full of stores devoted to fashion, decoration and leisure, you can also veer off towards the Saint-Boniface neighbourhood where cafes, boutiques and restaurants await you in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Then, if you’re really feeling shopaholic, push on to the Matonge neighbourhood, where you’ll find exotic food stores, beauty salons and clothing shops offering a little piece of Africa on Belgian soil.

Rue Antoine Dansaert
A focal point for fashion and design, the Dansaert neighbourhood is a top destination for shoppers. This main street and its side streets feature Belgium’s young and most happening creative talent. What’s more, the area has numerous swanky restaurants and trendy bars dotted around, particularly between the Nouveau Marché aux Grains and the canal.

Avenue Louise & Toison d’Or
The 3km Avenue Louise links the hustle and bustle of central Brussels to its calmer, posher neighbourhoods and ends at the lush green Bois de la Cambre. The first 500m is home to luxurious fashion stores and boutiques, but there are stores settling in the area that suit those with a humbler shopping budget. The adjoining Avenue de la Toison d’Or is home to smart Swedish fashion chains & Other Stories and Arket, as well as the Apple Store and a Bodum boutique. When you start working up an appetite after all that shopping, meander off into Rue Jean Stas where cafes and more boutiques await.

Rue du Bailli
Just off Avenue Louise in the Ixelles neighbourhood, Rue du Bailli is a focal point for independent clothes stores and knick-knack boutiques. Stroll along Bailli and pop your head into the variety of stores selling, well, just about everything you can imagine. It’s an ideal destination for buying a gift. When all the shopping begins to tire you out, hop across to Place Châtelain or Rue du Page for a spritzer or tapas plate.

Looking for more shopping options? Check out ShopInBrussels, a website created by regional commerce agency Atrium that includes 10,000 shops in the region. It allows shoppers to discover stores by subject, district and name. 

Written by Kelly Hendricks and Sally Tipper