Brussels girlie weekend guide

by Clare Spurrell

Brussels - the home of the European Parliament, chocolate and Tin Tin - has been given a bad rap as a tourist destination in recent years. But away from the tourist traps and parliamentary buildings, I found a city perfect for girlie weekends and hen parties, with designer clothes at reasonable prices, fantastic seafood dining and a vibrantly quirky, if not at times slightly surreal, nightlife

When I told people I was off to Brussels, I got some pretty standard responses: 'boring city, cheap beer'. Don't get me wrong, I like my beer, but a whole weekend supping the stuff was not what I was looking for. Plus a little birdie had told me that Brussels was fast emerging as a fashion designers' Mecca, so I was determined to get more out of my visit than just an economical beer-fest. Here, a photo tour of Brussels with a few surprises (photography by Clare Spurrell):

Shop till you drop.
Whether you are looking for a high street bargain (thanks to low rental costs, prices are around 30 per cent cheaper than in the UK), vintage threads or something a bit special - Brussels will have it. My mission was to find a dress for my friend's wedding this year, and my budget was 50 quid.

Most of the better known high street shops such as Zara and Claire's Accessories can be found in the Port de Namur in the Upper Town. But for a real taste of 'Bruxellois' style, head towards the old Exchange Building on the Boulevard Anspach, a good landmark pinpointing the start of the downtown Place Saint Géry district, where all the young new designers can be found.

The Rue Antoine Dansaert in the Place Saint Géry district is sprinkled with a variety of quirky looking shopfronts that ooze style. There are very few cash machines around here, so make sure that you cash up before you arrive. Here you can find local designers like Olivier Strelli, who uses a mix of diaphanous materials and woollen fabrics to create elegant collections. The Belgian designer was recently made famous by Mick Jagger, who wore an Olivier Strelli jacket on his last tour.

One of my absolute favourites on this street is Y-Dress, whose designer takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to her designs that are both practical, funky and unique. You will find shirts that can double as trousers, skirts sold with separate paint pots to let you get creative on them and layered fabrics that can be mixed and matched to create new looks to suit your mood. My favourites were the 'Emergency Wedding Dress' and the 'Instant Princess Dress' - both of which had ruffled underskirts to billow them out - and an 'over dress' whose colours can be mixed and matched.

Magpie's should pop into jewellers' Christa Reniers. Here, you can get your hands on one-off pieces inspired and built around the organic shape of natural stones. Her jewellery is either set in gold or silver; she uses different matte and shiny textures to create pieces that are timeless and unique. Prices range start at about 300 euros, but items can be resized and made to order. Visit www.christareniers.com for more information.

For window shopping, head to the Galeries Royales Saint Hubert District. This indoor passageway, lined with geometric boutique shops and cafes, screams Italian Renaissance style beneath a glass roof, and is the ideal place to pick up designer leather goods, jewellery or toys. Window shoppers can sit outside one of the cafes in the passageway and watch consumerism at its best.

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Brussels girlie weekend guide