Shopping in Belgium
If you expect to buy a lot of cheap things of popular brands, you shouldn’t ride in Belgium. In this country, it is better to focus on the unique products: designer clothes, vintage, lace.
Shopping Features in Belgium
As in any European country in Belgium there are large supermarkets. It took something to buy from Zara or H&M – You can always go to the Mall similar to the Giant Citizens City2. Clothes, shoes and other goods offer Inno in network department stores found in many cities. If the budget is not limited, you can stroll through the Gallerie St Hubert – the oldest passage in Europe, filled with expensive things from elite couturiers.
But in Belgium it is worth riding not for such large centers: it is better to slowly wander around the tiny boutiques, choose a beautiful lace, taste chocolate. There are many more or less well-known local fashion designers in the country. Pay attention to such brands that are difficult to detect in stores of other states. Most of all design boutiques – in Antwerp.
Belgians love antiques, vintage and second-hand, so it is not difficult to meet whole quarters with shops filled with various skills. In many villages, flea markets open once a week – "Broccans", where they trade both permanent mael-older sellers and ordinary locals wishing to free the house from. Sometimes among the mountains of garbage on broctants, it is possible to detect real rarities. Schedule of work of these bazaars can be found on the website of the municipality. If there are fixed prices in regular stores, then in the markets and in private antique shops you can quite try to bargain.
Many Belgians know English, but do not always want to talk on it, so in stores with you will often try to communicate in French or Dutch, and it is difficult to explain what size or color you want.
Most stores on the doors have stickers indicating that they take plastic cards of the main payment systems. However, sometimes there is a minimum threshold, about 10-15 euros: if you want to pay less than this amount, then "plastic" You will not take. There are also problems with transactions on maps issued by our banks. And finally, the owners of small shops sometimes prefer to take only cash.
If in one store you purchased goods worth more than 125 euros, you can ask for a check of Taks-Free, then put it on it on the border of the stamp and return a little more than 12 percent of the purchase cost.
Shopping time in Belgium
Most small stores are open on weekdays from 10:00 to 18:00, and on Saturday they can close an hour earlier. Day off is usually Sunday, but some do not work on Monday. Supermarkets are glad to buyers from 08: 00-09: 00 to 20: 00-21: 00. Some shopping points are arranged on Friday "a long day" and work for an hour longer.
"Temporary" Markets that appear on the streets of cities for one day a week, usually begin work around 07:00 and completed it by 13:00, but individual large markets, especially dedicated to antiques, can be visited until 18:00.
If you are planning to buy diamond jewelry, for example, in Antwerp, keep in mind that a huge number of shops are located in the Jewish quarter, belong to orthodox jews, and therefore will be closed in the Sabbath – from the evening of Friday until the end of Saturday.
Discounts and sales in Belgium
Like other European countries in Belgium, two main seasons Sale: Summer – in July and Winter – after Christmas in January.
In Belgium, there is an outlet Network Chic Outlet Shopping – Maasmechelen Village near the town of the same name at one and a half hours drive from Brussels, where you are waiting for boutiques of one and a half hundred brands, such as Desigual, Diesel, Escada, Geox, Hugo Boss, Max Mara, selling things last season at 50-60 percent discount.
Another outlet of another network, but with a similar set of brands – McArthurglen Designer Outlet Luxembourg, located on the border with Luxembourg.
However, even in sales and even in outlets prices in Belgium are quite high, so the best advice in this country shopaholics wishing to buy clothes and footwear of bulk inexpensive brands, carve half a day and go to neighboring Germany!
The shops
Reviews and studies of trips
Antwerp. The city in which it is pleasant to walk through the streets and shopping
Never come to Antwerp with girls. Antwerp not in vain compared with Paris or Milan. Otherwise, you risk leaving in a new blouse, but about new photos can forget. Read more →
Onreal | Summer 2014
Farmer Market in Brugge
The first thing we saw, having arrived in Brugge, was a huge farmers market that took most of the main square. Which, by the way, is called Markt – Market. Read more →
PhotoOtchet | Summer 2014
Brussels. Non-European capital of Europe
So was the first impression of Brussels. This city is very different from the rest of Belgium, it is worth only to go beyond the historical quarter. Many after the pure European cities of Brussels causes rejection. Read more →
dibazolllll | Fall 2013
Tale of Little Brugge
. Mostly, our idea of Belgium is limited to Brussels, despite the fact that the film was recently filmed in Brugge "Go to the bottom in Brugge". Before the trip, we decided not to watch it, agree more interesting to watch movies and shout out "Oh I was here and here, and here it was just wonderful, and here we were walking and drank and dirty beer and fir fragrant waffles. Read more →
roosa eu | May 2010
3 days in Belgium: Brussels, Antwerp, Brugge, Ghent
But in general, all the journey I went to 5 points (I have not received such pleasure from three days trips for a long time). I note that my trip came out expensive, but it was cut to cut costs on what, so don’t be afraid. But still, on food in Belgium, I do not recommend saving, it is one of the most important components of the understanding of this country. Read more →
