Quartier de l'Ilôt Sacré

Quartier de l'Ilôt Sacré Review

Flimflam artists and jewelry vendors mingle with the crowds in the narrow rue des Bouchers and even narrower petite rue des Bouchers. While many streets in central Brussels were widened as part of the preparations for the 1958 World's Fair, these tiny routes escaped being demolished after locals complained. The area was given special protection in 1959 and there are strict rules governing what changes can be made to its historic buildings. As long as you watch out for pickpockets, it's all good-natured fun in the liveliest area in Brussels, where restaurants and cafés stand cheek by jowl, their tables spilling out onto the sidewalks. One local street person makes a specialty of picking up a heaped plate and emptying it into his bag. The waiters laugh and bring another plate. The restaurants make strenuous efforts to pull you in with huge displays of seafood and game. The quality, alas, is a different matter, and there have been arrests in recent years for large-scale credit card fraud in these restaurants.