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. 

Marx wrote the Communist manifesto in Brussels!

The house stands tall and proud in the midst of Brussels, at the Grand Place, on the left side of the Town Hall. The building is called "Le Cygne" ("The Swan"). 

Apparently, Marx lived in Brussels in different places between 1845 and 1848, after he was kicked out of France. Poor Karl... Friedrich Engels, with whom he drank quite a few Belgian beers, helped him write the manifesto. 

Marx allegedly suffered from poverty in Brussels, the capital of a blooming industrial country with colonies. His poverty might have influenced his thinking and radical ideas.

The agitator Marx ended up being kicked out of Belgium as well in 1848, for causing too much turmoil. 

Bibliotheca Wittockiana

The Bookbinding and Book Arts Museum bears the name of its founder, Michel Wittock. 

It opened its doors in autumn 1983.  Mr. Wittock had been an avid bibliophile and collector of books, manuscripts and autographs. 

On the first floor (a later addition), the reading room with rare books and old manuscripts can be consulted for free. The nostalgics can even follow a bookbinding workshop. 

The building is built into the ground, hidden under trees and ivy. It features a brutalist architecture. Its silence and a sensation of timelessness and safety left a lasting impression on me. 

If you have time, combine this visit with a stroll in the sinuous Woluwé park...

 

Address: 23 rue du Bémel, 1150 Brussels

Le Palais de la Folle Chanson

Another less known example of Art Deco in Brussels.

I was struck by its elegant whiteness. It was built in 1928 after the plans of the architect Antoine Courtens, one of Victor Horta's students. Victor Horta is mainly known as the father of Art Nouveau in Brussels, but few know that two important Art Deco buildings were designed by the latter: le Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Central Station. 

The palace is actually an apartment building with many windows and a rotunda on the corner. Its name is pure poetry: the Palace of the Mad Song (after the name of one of the roads it is situated on). The building holds luxury flats. The  apartments facing l'Avenue de la Folle Chanson even contain a boudoir and a dressing. 

By the way, what do you prefer? Art Nouveau or Art Deco? Personally, I prefer Art Deco, as I think it's rougher and has more personality. 

Address: corner between Boulevard Général Jacques and l'Avenue de la Folle Chanson.

Villa Empain

I discovered Villa Empain during a photo shoot with my friend, Laurent, on a cold November day. 

It is difficult to put into words the beauty of this place. The Art Deco jewel is owned by the Boghossian Foundation, belonging to a Lebanese family with Armenian roots. It hosts amazing exhibitions, concerts and conferences. 

An oval pool in the rear seems to have a decorative role. But my favourite element in the whole building is a former bathroom on the first floor, covered in mosaic of different shades of green and turquoise. 

Address: avenue Franklin Roosevelt 67

COS

I am not a shopaholic. But I have to hand it to COS: it represents a unique combination of minimalism and elegance. Everything at an affordable price.

Even better than the clothes are the accessories (in my humble opinion): shoes, jewelry, lingerie. 

I had a very interesting discussion about clothes with an artist friend. She reckoned that COS were a brand for right-wing people, self-centered, snobbish. I was quite dumbfounded by her statement, since I would certainly not consider myself right-wing. "Disenchanted with politics", someone used to call me. 

Do you think that clothes reflect someone's political beliefs? Feel free to leave a comment below...

Address: 32 avenue Louise. 

Chez Franz

I couldn't stand Chez Franz the first time I went there. I did not feel at ease there, maybe because despite its modest appearance, it seemed to be a favoured meeting place for high-brow ucclois.   

But I changed my opinion. It's a bar for everyone: students, kids, old guys, writers, ladies of ages impossible to guess, daydreamers...  

The cuisine doesn't look bad either. I like the tiles on the floor and the wooden window frames. I would call it typically Belgian, without being too shabby. 

The nicest thing about it is that if you ask the bartender for limes for the caipirinha you want to prepare at home, he won't say no...

Address:
30 av. du Haut Pont, 1050 Brussels