Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert

Opened in 1847, this glass-roofed shopping arcade in central Brussels was among the first of its kind in Europe and remains one of the most elegant. Its two long galleries, lined with classical facades and lit by an arched iron-and-glass canopy, house chocolatiers, booksellers, cafes and a small theatre. The arcade linked the busy streets of the lower town and became a fashionable promenade for the nineteenth-century bourgeoisie. Its refined architecture and historic shops make it a graceful passage a short walk from the Grand-Place.