Galeries Royales, Bruxelles, Belgique ~ Février 2019

Photo prise avec un Iphone SE. Aucune retouche.

Royal Galleries, Brussels, Belgium ~ February 2019

Picture taken with a Iphone SE. No filter applied.

Galerias da Rainha, Bruxelas, Bélgica ~ Fevereiro 2019

ROYALTIES IN BRUSSELS

Ain't this cute? A picture of a zombie doll between still-alive-dolls. No, we're not shopping for toys (to eat), we're checking out les Galeries Royales in Brussels, the capital of beer, chocolate and fries. And also of Belgium.

Les quoi ? Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, or Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen in Dutch. The 'Galeries' are basically a large hall, filled with establishments and covered by a round, glass ceiling. They were built by Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar in the middle of the 19th century and were meant to represent a mekka for the Brussels bourgeoisie.

Composition

Yes, it's a hall, but it's called 'the galleries', because it is composed of two main sections: the first one is the Galerie du Roi, or Koningsgalerij, and the second one is the Galerie de la Reine, or Koninginnegalerij. There's a smaller gallery on the side, which is called the Galerie des Princes, or Prinsengalerij (which is actually kind of sweet). Now, where the two main sections come together, there's a sort of 'opening': it's where the Rue des Bouchers, or Beenhouwersstraat, crosses the hall.

What you have to know about Belgium is that ONE you have Flanders - where people speak Dutch TWO you have Wallonia - where people speak French and THREE you have the region of Brussels - where people speak both (and actually also some German), which is why street names in the capital and in the region of Brussels (but only there!) are always displayed in both French and Dutch.

The galleries are situated right in the beating heart of the city: next to les Galeries you can find le Marché aux Herbes or De Grasmarkt, the central station and La Grande Place or De Grote Markt. So naturally the galleries attract a lot of tourists, not only because of their historical value, but also thanks to their strategic location. If you want to meet Asian people with a camera (or iPad), then the galleries are the place to be. 

Establishments

And Asian people have every right & reason to be there! In the galleries you can find some of Belgium's finest chocolatiers, like Neuhaus and Godiva. There are also some luxury shops that sell leather gloves and hand made hats. Next to that, you'll discover some jewelery stores, bookshops, even a Häagen Dazs (!), but also some theaters, galleries (yes, it's a gallerinception), exquisite cafés and a beautifully decorated cinema. You might even encounter a shop that sells very original, hipsterlike clocks. 

And an absolutely must do: visit les Galeries during the Christmas Holidays, because then they look like this: