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A spectacularly elegant and spacious shopping arcade built in 1847 (see Galeries Royales de Saint-Hubert).

A pedestrianized shopping street close to the city centre, with many of the main European fashion chains and a large Inno department store at the northern end.

Ignore the shoddy environs: this is the place for cutting-edge fashion. All the Antwerp designers are represented in the shops here, and there are several outlets for notable Belgian fashion labels.

This is a small, rather dowdy sister to the Galeries Royales de Saint-Hubert. Here you’ll find second-hand books, prints, postcards and posters.

There are antique shops fronting onto the square, but try poking around in some of the side passages as well. Two of the finest chocolatiers, Wittamer and Marcolini, are here (see Wittamer, Pierre Marcolini).

Top-name international couturiers cluster around the Place Louise, while more boutiques lie within a covered arcade that connects the Avenue de la Toison d’Or to the Avenue Louise.

Another covered arcade of up-market boutiques close to the Porte de Namur.

From early December to early January, this market offers all things Christmassy – crafts, decorations, presents – in the streets to the west of the Grand Place and around the Bourse.

The Place du Jeu de Balle has a daily flea market (6am–2pm). In recent years, shops selling antiques, junk and curios have spread up the Rue Blaes to the north.

This maze-like covered arcade sells T-shirts, baseball caps, leather goods, costume jewellery and incense – all surprisingly in the lower price range.