Galeries Royales de Saint-Hubert

The Galeries Saint-Hubert form one of the most elegant retailing complexes in Europe. As with later developments in London and Naples, they were built in part in order to obliterate an area of squalid alley nears to the hub of the city centre in la Grande Place.

There are two principal arcades, the Galerie du Roi and the Galerie de la Reine with an offshoot the Galerie du Prince. An iron and glass roof extending some 200 m covers the longest axis. The plan for the gallery was made by Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar (1811-1880) in 1836 but it took nine years to negotiate the complex property rights and the opening did not take place until 20 July 1847. There are more than 50 shops on the ground floor with apartments and offices on the two floors above. The buildings are in the Italianate style, and extensive use was made of Belgian Bluestone from the Rombaux and Wincqz quarries in the exteriors, and for lintels, columns, corbels and sawn tiles for flooring. Stone from the same sources was used in an extensive renovation programme in 1993-97. There are many cafes in the Galeries Saint-Hubert, and shops include Delvaux, which sells leather goods, and the chocolate establishment founded by the Swiss Jean Neuhaus.