Beside seeing all the great art and architecture, any suggestions for fun stuff, like great restaurants, great night clubs, good piano bars, places to make some connections with local bussiness people?I will be in Brussels for a week at the end of Feb '99. Also good shopping tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Good shooping is on Avenue Louise and Avenue Waterloo.On one of the smaller streets off of Louise there are many good resturaunts, that are not very expensive. Piccolo Mondo is our favorite for a quick Italian bite. <BR> <BR>About three blocks away is the Grand sablon area, which is a more trendy area to shop, stroll and eat in.

Brussels? Don't forget to visit Brugge. Only 1 hour away with the train. But what a city (if you like history of course) !! <BR>You are continuously walking between houses as if you still lived in the dark ages. <BR> <BR>Nice & pretty hotel: Anselmus Hotel in the Riddersstraat. Small & warm hotel in the city center. Excellent place to be based to discover the city by walking. <BR> <BR>

Shop for lace and tapestries in Brugge. If you like antiques, the Sablon area in Brussels has an antique market on weekends. Avenue Louise area is very nice but expensive. Chocolates: my favorite is Corne de la Toison d'or located in Gallerie St. Hubert in Brussels. <BR>

<BR>Try to go to La Belgica bar, whose precise location I do not know. It is well-known to the locals. It is lively and small and patronised by all sorts of people. Try a 'sous-marin' which is a glass of beer with a shot of spirit submerged in it. <BR>There's a great restaurant too called 'Chez Clara', whose address is, once again, forgotten! It is on a main street not far from the Grande Place and I stumbled across it easily. <BR>

We recently ate at Le Vistro, 16 Quai aux Briques, beside the Place St. Catherine, phone 512-4181. We had been in France for 10 days, and despite all the wonderful meals we had there, our late-night dinner at Le Vistro was probably the best!! Fantastic seafood, and fun artsy decor. <BR>Another favorite at which we always make a point to stop is one of the world's best bakeries - Le Pain Quotidien. There are several in Brussels, as well as throughout Belgium. One is located at 11 Rue des Sablons - a nice stop before or after the Sat. antiques market. You can sit at a long communal table and order your bread or croissants and a big bowl (not a cup!) of delicious coffee, and share with your tablemates all of the fantastic spreads in jars on the table - jams, preserves, honeys, chocolates of every type - YUM! <BR>And our favorite chocolate shop is Galler, Rue au Beurre 44 - a richer fuller taste than others we tried. <BR>A good place to get out of the city for a bit is the forest near the Tervuren Palace. Lovely cobbled ways, unpaved paths, streams, green quiet. <BR>Shopping - the lovely 19th century glass and iron Galeries St.-Hubert...probably window-shopping though! <BR>Have a great trip!