The glass roof
213 metres of arched gallery in marble and gold.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fred Romero from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Gargarapalvin — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert are among Europe's first covered shopping arcades (1847) and its loveliest: an elegant 213-metre gallery under an arched glass roof with neoclassical façades of marble and gold, divided into the King's, Queen's and Princes' galleries — and it is **Europe's first glass-roofed shopping arcade**, three decades ahead of Milan's famous Galleria (though Paris's covered passages predate it by some fifty years). It is the temple of Belgian chocolate: here Jean Neuhaus opened his shop in 1857, and in this gallery his grandson invented the "praline" (filled chocolate) in 1912 — the original Neuhaus shop is still in place, beside Pierre Marcolini, Corné Port-Royal and others. Historic cafés, a theatre, a bookshop and a cinema keep the nineteenth-century spirit. Steps from the Grand-Place, free, and an ideal refuge in rain or winter — a pure Brussels stroll of taste.
213 metres of arched gallery in marble and gold.
Where the praline was invented in 1912 — still in place.
Nineteenth-century spirit in cafés, a theatre and a cinema.
Galerie du Roi 5, 1000 Brussels
Brussels City Museum (King's House)The Brussels City Museum occupies the "King's House" — the imposing neo-Gothic b2 minutes walk4.5
Grand-PlaceThe Grand-Place is the heart of Brussels and one of the world's most beautiful s3 minutes walk4.8
National Bank of Belgium MuseumA museum about money and its history run by Belgium's central bank, in a former 3 minutes walk4.5
Fashion and Lace MuseumA municipal museum near the Grand Place showing costume and textiles, its most i4 minutes walk3.8
Cathedral of St Michael and St GudulaThe Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula is Belgium's national church and Bruss5 minutes walk4.6The gallery is the place: Neuhaus (the original inventor, 1857), Pierre Marcolini (the luxury artisan), Corné Port-Royal and Mary — all genuine shops, not tourist ones. Taste before buying, and fresh pralines are sold by weight. Avoid the cheap "Belgian chocolate" shops in the tourist lanes.