La verrière Hermès

Recipe for a perfect evening: take a writer, an art critic and a psychoanalyst.

Go to the Hermes shop on avenue Louise. Cross the shop. Go to the back. Mingle with the pique-assiettes (spongers, trenchermen). Sip from a glass of champagne. Make conversation about contemporary art. Look at the sky through the glass roof.

Day-dream. Smile as much as you can. Don't think about yesterday or tomorrow. Relax...

Venue: 50 boulevard de Waterloo, 1000 Brussels

Résidence Palace

Another breathtaking example of Art Deco in Brussels, hidden jewel within the European quarter. Built after the plans of Swiss architect Michel Polak, it opened its doors in 1927. 

Résidence Palace is a complex of buildings situated between rue de la Loi and Chaussée d'Etterbeek. The oldest building consists of 180 luxury apartments of 3 to 20 rooms each. Apart from that, the complex hosts conference rooms, a press centre, a pool, Turkish baths and a theatre. 

My personal favourite is the restaurant on the ground floor. The cherry on the cake is the ceramic fountain in the patio, of Andalusian inspiration. A perfect venue if you want to impress your date...

Address: rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels

Arne Quinze

Arne Quinze is a contemporary Belgian sculptor. Initially a graffiti artist in the eighties, he is now famous for several urban interventions.

In Brussels, you can admire two of his masterpieces. One in the fancy Kwint restaurant and one nearby the Flemish parliament, in the tranquil Louvain street.

Quinze employs materials which are rarely used together: iron and wood. Most of his sculptures feature a red-orange colour. A feast for the eyes...

Check out Arne Quinze's official website for more info. 

Cinéma Styx

According to Greek mythology, Styx was the river which separated the world of the living from the underworld.

Cinéma Styx is situated close to Place Fernand Coq in Ixelles. It consists of two small rooms. The best thing about it is that there are no commercials before the movies.

The choice of movies is tasteful. Tickets cost only 5€. They are not always the newest movies, but if you missed one in the big cinemas, you are very likely to still find it in the Styx.

The latest movie I saw there was a documentary, Searching for Sugar Man. I warmly recommend it to all romantics and dreamers. Here is the complete soundtrack, enjoy!

P.S. The address is written on the pink ticket;-)

Théâtre de la Vie

The theatre is one of my big loves, although I dislike being in the spotlight.

Brussels has quite a generous theatrical offer. Beside the big theatres everyone has heard of, I was surprised to recently discover a few small theatres, very cosy and good.

Théâtre de la Vie ("The Theatre of Life") is one of them. While waiting in the lobby for the beginning of a play, I couldn't refrain from staring at the rest of the audience. Beautiful people, mostly young, students, dreamers, wearing colourful clothes.

I witnessed there an amazing one-woman show, "Chair(e) de poule". The play was about womanhood in all its facets. The actress, Janie Follet, performed every stunt imaginable on stage: at some point she smashed some eggs with her body and improvised a slide which she used with the joyfulness of a child.

Unfortunately, the play is no longer tête d'affiche. Another hidden jewel I can recommend is Théâtre des Bosons.

P.S. I sincerely dread drama in real life.

On a more romantic note, here is one of my favourite Shakespeare readings ever:

Address for Théâtre de la Vie: rue Traversière, 45 1210 Bruxelles. 

Archiraar

Have you seen the movie "The Cube"? This is how I felt like when I entered the Archiraar gallery.

The owner is an architect. The dazzlingly white walls seem to be closing in on you. And the bright neons enhance the feeling of unrest. 

I recently went to the preview of "Constellations" by Vincent Chenut (by the way, previews are the best occasions to meet interesting-looking people). "Constellations" consists of maps who have been scraped with a scalpel and only few trails of the original maps are visible. 

Brussels is packed with art galleries, but also with people who can afford them. A lot of contemporary art, but also African and 19th century stuff. 

Forget about New York and Paris, Brussels is the new capital of art. 

Address: Rue de la Tulipe 31A

Laurent Gerbaud

Best hot chocolate in town!

Unctuous, thick, not two sweet. Genuine molten chocolate. Served with a glass of plain water. 

Bright, minimalist interior. Transparency. Cool, eclectic music. Splendid view on Palais des Beaux-Arts and Hotel Ravenstein. A treat for the soul. 

Bonus: you get a free praline to go with your hot chocolate. I for one am a sucker for the ones with salted almonds and dried prunes. 

Location: 2 rue Ravenstein, 1000 Brussels

Credits for the first photo here.