Hot Destination: Brussels by Maria Shollenbarger

Formerly known as a capital that was equal parts snoozy and stodgy (to which sophisticated globetrotters made the pilgrimage for one of two reasons: to eat at La Truffe Noire, or to eat at Comme Chez Soi), the city has taken on a decided gloss, with previously bourgeois enclaves like the Place du Grand Sablon and Chatelain throwing off a more youthful, edgier vibe.

Luxury hotel creator par excellence Rocco Forte took over the fusty Hotel Amigo and, with the help of his sister, the London-based interior designer Olga Polizzi, remade it as a modern temple to style and luxury in a 14th-century building. For many, it’s still the place to stay in town, thanks in great part to the hyper-attentive service and dead-central location.

Recently, though, it’s getting some serious competition on the high-style hotel front, in the form of The Dominican, on the Rue Leopold, just the other side of the Grand Place. The Dominican’s ultra-sumptuous, candle-lit lounge and restaurant, framed by huge paned windows, contrasts nicely with its understated rooms and suites, done in Flemish neutrals with state-of-the-art accoutrements (huge flat-screen TVs, power showers and heated floor in the bathrooms).

To get a taste of how much Brussels has changed, stroll north of Boulevard Anspach—a decade or so ago still a gritty enough part of town that no one save impecunious students and a few pioneering designers wanted to settle here. Now all the action takes place in and around two small but vibrant squares, the Place Saint-Géry and the Place Sainte-Catherine, and the Rue Antoine Dansaert, which runs between them. The area—known by locals as Dansaert—is Brussels’ answer to NoLita in New York or London’s Shoreditch: it’s got progressive fashion, a handful of chic new eateries, a thriving late-night bar scene, and still just enough grit to keep things feeling authentic.

Rue Dansaert is lined with truly lovely one-off boutiques, many of them the flagships of up-and-coming Belgian designers, including Annemie Verbeke, Olivier Strelli, Marianne Timperman, and jewelry designers Christa Reniers and Les Prescieuses. There's an impressive Basque restaurant, ComoComo, and and an Art-Deco bar/speakeasy, L'Archiduc, that dates back to the 30s (and is currently populated by uberstylish locals, all clad in variations on the requisite fashion uniform of APC, Dries van Noten, and Margiela).

Meanwhile, just off the Place Saint-Géry on Rue Jules van Praet, you can pick from a block-long selection of Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, one more authentic and delicious than the next (Than Binh is especially good). Then swing into the square for drinks at Le Roi des Belges, or Mappa Mundo, directly across the street. If the weather’s fine, commandeer a table out on the sidewalk; this corner of Brussels has become one of the best people-watching spots in town.

The good news for weekend visitors: Brussels has plenty of great luxury and boutique hotel options—there’s a place to suit every style aficionado, from five-star splendour to quiet luxury—and weekends are when room rates are at their lowest. A favorite bolthole of those in the know is Le Dixseptième, a beautiful and discreet boutique hotel housed in a lovely 17th century building that was once home of the Spanish Ambassador. It’s perfectly situated between the Central Station and the Grand Place, and just yards from the city’s Royal Galleries.

On the posh Avenue Louise, the Conrad offers five-star ambience and amenities, along with a palatial façade and a bar-lounge, Loui, where major players in the worlds of government, diplomacy, and business rub shoulders. And for traditionalists, the elegant, Stanhope—christened Brussels’ first five-star luxury hotel over a hundred years ago— has rooms done up in florals, chintzes and pastels, and a sense of timelessness one expects from luxury hotel stalwart.