The city centre has a beautiful calm on Sunday mornings. Get started with a takeout coffee or matcha from Izy Coffee, a sustainability-focused local chain that offers plant-based milk, vegan pastries and recyclable cups (drinks, €3 to €8). Or if real milk and lots of butter is more your thing, grab a coffee (€3 to €5) and a fluffy cramique, or brioche (€3), at one of the two branches of Aux Merveilleux de Fred and head out to explore the labyrinth of streets around the Grand-Place, the city’s main square, lined with its ornate, Baroque-era guild houses, as well as the old City Hall and the King’s House. You’ll get the best snapshots of the historic buildings and the narrow pedestrian lanes in the early light, especially if you arrive before most tourists get there.
10.30am | Hang out with history and culture
Look for loot and get a glimpse of life in the historic Marolles district south of the city centre, once famous for the increasingly rare local dialect, Brusseleer, a.k.a. Brusselian. Start out at the flea market at Place du Jeu de Balle, said to have started in 1873, where you’ll find more than 300 stands selling everything from vinyl records to Limoges china sets, brass candlesticks and leather jackets, all with wildly varying prices that are generally open to counter-offers. The surrounding neighbourhood is home to dozens of colourful cafes and bistros, like le Chaff, where you can fuel up with a cafe au lait (€2.90) or even grab the quiche of the day with salad (€12.50) or another quick lunch while checking the list of upcoming post-punk and indie concerts that occasionally take place here in the evening. On your way to the metro, stop by Art et Marges, which doesn’t look like much from the outside but is a surprisingly good museum focusing on outsider and self-taught artists (entry, €6).
12pm | Spend time with a surreal one
