Activities in Belgium

The antique-jewelry shop is just down the street from Dries Van Noten's fashion flagship.

To go antiquing in Brussels is to bask in civility and ease. Stay hard by the Gothic, gilded Grand Place - a square called on of the most beautiful in

The association vets dealers and has strict membership criteria—to be eligible, you have to have been in the market for at least 10 years.

A fuchsia-and-black jewel box filled with froth dresses and accessories.

The houses in Zurenborg - along Cogels-Osylei, Transvaalstraat, and Waterloostraat - are unique in Europe; more than 150 are designated landmarks. The

Treat yourself to a package of speculoos (traditional Belgian spice cookies) to snack on as you descend back toward the Grand Place.

These dealers in African art and relics as well as the adjacent Congo Basin Art History Research Center can be found on a charming lane off the Place

Established in 1839, this antiques store is one of the few still holding on to its spot on the Place du Grand Sablon. Its salons are filled with 18th-

A building in two parts: the old wing, an 18th-century mansion that showcases re-creations of domestic life in that era; and next door, a modern exten

At the Desmet antiques gallery, nearly everything is of majestic scale and almost nothing is Belgian. Sarcophagus-like stone tubs come from France, bo

Diamond House sits the heart of Antwerp's jewelry district.

Here, an exhaustive history of the diamond trade is offered but most come for the dark corridors that hold brightly lit cases filled with 19th-century

The exhibition space and salesroom lets the public observe cutters and setters through windowed booths.

The multitalented Muriel Bardinet (dealer, interior designer, painter, photographer) puts the chic back into shabby. Behind the striking curved-glass

A daring shoe store located near the Nationalestraat.

The designer makes custom vintage-style jackets and dresses. Pick up one of her tailored, Audrey Hepburn-inspired evening gowns.

The small museum's collection of vintage cameras and photgraphy equipment offers a comprehensive history of the craft. Don't miss the bookshop which h

A well-edited collection of 20th-century ceramics and furniture, plus the odd Pucci foulard.

An ormolu-mounted fruit-wood desk and a bench of thick rubber molded to resemble giant blocks of chocolate front a huge painting of African dancers. A

Haute Antiques houses 40 dealers whose wares span the full range of styles and periods, from a fanciful iron birdcage and a mod trapezoidal fireplace,