Brussels Entertainment

  1. Falstaff

    A century old and still popular with the fashionable young and eccentric old, this Art Nouveau grand café, designed by Horta-disciple Houbion, is an exotic world of mirrors, glass and fluidity. Ignore the location - this street has been screaming for attention for years.

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  2. Flagey

    A mixed but mainly contemporary programme of concerts take place in this former home of the National Radio Orchestra inside the Flagey building.

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  3. Fontainas

    The ripped black vinyl seats, '60s tables and light fittings and cracked tiles of this ultratrendy bar see locals catching up on the newspapers by day until the party cranks up again come nightfall.

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  4. Forest National

    The city's temple for large international gigs and local favourites.

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  5. Fuse

    Clubbers know this place as the home turf of megawatt DJs, like DJ Pierre, mixing house and deep house. Gay boys Europe-wide also know Fuse for its legendary La Démence parties.

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  7. Goupil le Fol

    You can't help falling in love, or just wishing you were, as you sip the house fruit liqueur in this romantic bar. The nooks and crannies are crammed with old records and paintings and Brel et al croon in the background.

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  8. Halles de Schaerbeek

    A striking glass-and-steel former covered market hall built in 1901 featuring circus arts, theatre, dance and opera plus contemporary concerts and multimedia installations.

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  9. Halles St-Géry

    Occupying a huge, tiered former market hall on what was once an island, Halles St-Géry has an enormous obelisk at its centre marking 'kilometre zero' - the point from which all distances in Belgium are measured. Halles St-Géry now hosts art exhibitions by day, and the bar cranks of an evening when DJs spin funk, house and more. In summer, the party spills outdoors and goes on until the wee hours.

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  10. James Joyce

    The first Irish pub in Brussels. Sometimes rowdy, but it does have quieter moments and there's occasional live music.

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  11. Jazz Station

    This temple to jazz hosts various concerts and exhibitions inside a disused 19th-century railway station, with a bar in the old ticket office.

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  13. Kaaitheater

    Bastion of Flemish avant-garde theatre.

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  14. Kinepolis

    The multiplex that started the multiplexes rolling around the world. Some 24 screens (plus an IMAX theatre) with a capacity to seat 7000. Three auditoriums have wheelchair access.

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  15. Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg

    The Royal Flemish Theatre is better known by its acronym KVS. The 2006 season saw it back in business in its beautifully restored neo-Renaissance building after five years housesitting in an old bottle factory. The theatre's original façade has been retained, but inside it's completely custom-made and, in bold Flemish style, it's captivating and confident.

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  16. L'Archiduc

    L'Archiduc is easily identified by its jade-green façade. Ring the bell to gain entry then lounge with a martini in this 1930s Art Deco bar, which has local line-ups (free) on Saturday, international acts on Sunday and a truly fabulous atmosphere. Gigs start at .

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  17. La Fleur en Papier Doré

    Artists adore this out-of-the-way Marolles bar where the walls actually do talk, in a sense, by way of the sketches and scribblings of the city's famed surrealists covering them.

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  19. Le Bier Circus

    Serious beer buffs should make this one of their first ports o' call. Several hundred brews and staff who know their stuff make it an excellent place to start investigations. The décor's hardly fuel for the imagination, but that's the beer's job anyway. As Belgian pubs go, this one has very limited opening hours, reflecting its odd location in an unloved part of town.

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  20. Le Cirio

    Anything but off-the-tourist-track, but still a fixture for locals sipping the signature half-and-half (half wine, half champagne), this 1886 grand café could be a film set, with lots of dark timber, glass cabinets and lighting giving it a sepia-tinged glow.

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  21. Le Greenwich

    Legendary as the den where Bobby Fischer and countless other chess masters have traded pieces, this brown café is still dominated by chess. Sitting and watching the players battling it out is entertainment enough (which is to say there's no music, of course).

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  22. Le Roy d'Espagne

    Sit and sip (pricey beers) the splendour of the Grand Place in this former guildhouse. And, yes, those are inflated dried pigs' bladders above your head.

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  23. Le You

    Somewhat mainstream but in a sterling location just off the Grand Place, this vast club has a labyrinth of dance floors and chill-out rooms, and gay tea dances on Sundays.

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  25. Louise Gallery

    Buried inside the Galeries Louise shopping mall, this strobe-lit club has a wicked sound system that sees a diverse crowd dance till they drop.

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  26. Maison La Bellone

    The glass-vaulted courtyard of this 18th-century stunner is used for occasional concerts.

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  27. Monk

    The Monk sprawls over two 17th-century rooms clad with timber and mirrors, and through not trying too hard, has become a regular hangout for with-it Bruxellois.

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  28. Musée du Cinéma

    In a wing of the BOZAR cultural centre, Brussels' cinema museum is due to have reopened by the time you're reading this. You can browse through archives and memorabilia, but the real highlight are the silent films screened at its cinema, accompanied by a live pianist. Check the website for updates.

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  29. Pathé Palace

    Belgium's best-known movie directors, the Dardenne brothers, plan to reopen this old downtown cinema as a new art-house venue. Brussels International will know if it's up and running.

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