The artist Christophe Coppens has our capital under his skin. For a long time, since he left his hometown of Saint-Nicolas more than thirty years ago. His passionate wanderings take him to places where beauty and authenticity reign. Here is the list of his favorite places. Thanks for sharing
He has Brussels under his skin. However, he was not born there. Though. We could without mistake consider that his debut in this city at 19, a young student at the Conservatory, was like a (second) birth for him. “It’s the source of everything, it’s where a lot of things were seeded,” he says.
To share his favorite places, he arranged to meet on a bench in the Parc du Cinquantenaire, the weather was still nice. The former little boy from Saint-Nicolas, East Flanders, had in his viewfinder the famous arcades surmounted by the monumental quadriga – a chariot, four horses and the statue of Brabant erecting the national flag. In this green lung, yet ripped open at its heart by a road hopper, Christophe Coppens says all the good things he thinks of the capital.
His first memory? It dates back to when he was 15. He had come to meet one of his friends who had moved there. “It was in the 80s and some, she showed me the city and especially City 2. I found it incredible, there was even a cinema… I don’t think we left City 2 all day !” At 18, he returned there to study theater at the Conservatory. “I found a room in a rather rotten building, it was above a café on Avenue Fonsny, in a house that no longer exists, with high ceilings, fireplaces, typically Brussels, all that appealed to me. attracted a lot. When I showed it to my parents, they were shocked, they would have preferred that I lived in a cleaner and more modern place but I thought it was romantic.
Immediately, irremediably, Christophe Coppens loved Brussels. “I had lived all my youth in Saint-Nicolas, without leaving my studio which I had set up in the attic and where I spent entire weekends. And there for the first time, thanks to the other students, I started going out, it was a great discovery. I loved the area around the Gare du Midi, this very interesting mix of Greek, Spanish and Arab cultures. I always went to the cinema, to concerts at the Palais des Beaux-Arts which was not yet called Bozar. I was nourished by culture and meetings, it was very exciting.”
His best addresses in Brussels
His food addresses
“I love cooking. When I finish lunch, I think about what we are going to eat in the evening… I eat healthy, lots of vegetables, I like spices, cookbooks, recipes, going to a restaurant and trying it the next day to imitate, to approach what I tasted… My mother cooks very well and I remember that, as a child, I was already looking at recipe books. But I really got into it later, thanks to Jamie Oliver. His approach was different, the way he tore the salad with his hands, the way he used the oven, all of that influenced me. I hate food sharing, which is just an excuse to offer small portions. In my list you will only find truly authentic places. For me, the basis is always the products and the ingredients and I don’t want it to be too disguised.”
FreshMed
“In this shop, you can find all the spices and even those you don’t see elsewhere.”
35, rue de l’Escadron.
freshmed.be
Bar Asturias
“Near the Gare du Midi, in Saint-Gilles, this bar is run by a great lady who has been there forever, with her son, her daughter-in-law. I like this family restaurant aspect.”
14, rue de l’Argonne.
Facebook Bar Asturias
The Samurai
“A temple since 1974. It is currently under construction, so the team opened a pop-up, L’Atelier du Samouraï in Uccle. I have always loved this restaurant and its staff, I went there when my dad was in charge. Japan is very dear to me and when you eat there, you feel what you can feel in a restaurant in Japan.”
1105, Chaussée de Waterloo.
samourai-bruxelles.be
Al Barmaki
“A real Lebanese! I seek authenticity more than originality or experimentation. And above all, when I go to a restaurant, I want to be able to eat what I don’t know how to cook.”
67, rue des Eperonniers.
albarmaki.be
Konchu
“I discovered it recently, I really like it, especially in the evening, it’s a mix of Japanese with a Belgian spirit. There are young people in the kitchen and in the dining room too. It’s a bit of the same atmosphere as Old Boy and it’s the only slightly trendy restaurant on my list.”
20, rue Ernest Solvay.
konchu.eu
Corica
“I only drink tea in the morning, but after lunch, it’s a ritual, I need two espressos to continue and start the second part. It’s symbolic, my day is really divided in two. I get them at the counter, my favorite is the Jamaica Blue Mountain.”
49, rue du Marché aux Poulets.
corica.be
The bar of the Hotel Amigo
“For a work meeting, it’s perfect. It’s been renovated, it’s very beautiful, it’s a bit like New York from the 90s. I loved the Cosmopolitan, it was a long time ago… I stopped drinking alcohol six months ago and it really makes me feel good. I’ve always loved hotel bars, everywhere, it has a certain romanticism, it’s a bit like being on a trip. And in the afternoon, they are quiet places, I like the peace that reigns there when the tourists, travelers and guests are outside…”
1, rue de l’Amigo.
roccofortehotels.com
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His cultural addresses
“In my life, three things matter, besides people, it is food, tools and materials for my artistic projects and books, which nourish me more than anything else. Even as a child, I devoted all my pocket money to buying them, it was mostly works of theater, poetry or literature. Now, they are artist monographs or catalogs or complete works. I also admit that it is by period: if I love someone or something, I want to have everything, to know everything.
The Fresh Paint bookstore
“For its very good selection. I’m a bit obsessive: I want to know everything that’s published, who published what, what the trends are, what’s the best work on an artist, what exhibition catalogs are there, even without going see them. The last book I gave myself was an old book about the British director, writer and visual artist Derek Jarman that I didn’t have yet. At one time, when I needed money, in the United States, I sold my books, by the dozens, but I wrote down the titles, I promised myself to buy them again when times were better…”
9, rue Lesbroussart.
painting-fresh.be
La Fondation Boghossian Villa Empain
“She is exceptional. I am always amazed by the quality of the exhibitions. I haven’t yet discovered the one about Pierre Alechinsky, I’m curious… The work of staging is always very beautiful and the place is magical. It’s just a shame we can’t swim in the pool!”
67, avenue Franklin Roosevelt.
villaempain.com
The Wiertz museum
“One of my favorite museums, its world is so particular, it’s so spectacular, with its enormous paintings, its empty rooms where you walk around alone and this little gentleman behind the counter at the entrance. And what’s more, it’s free. It is unfortunately under renovation at the moment, but should open again for summer 25.”
62, rue Vautier.
fine-arts-museum.be
Le museum Van Buuren
“It’s obvious, it’s just beautiful. I organized a shoot there years ago, I don’t remember when it was exactly. They were photos from my collection, staged with models, a fictitious family, a mother, a father, children who lived in this house, ate and listened to music…”
41, avenue Léo Errera.
museumvanbuuren.be
The Pierre Marie Giraud gallery
“Each exhibition is magnificent, the selection is perfect, even if it’s not in my budget! We mainly discover crafts, glass, ceramics, plaster, metal, and always of admirable quality. The staging is different each time, often done by Thierry Struvay in a very elegant way – he also played a role in my journey, when I arrived in Brussels, he then had his shop in the Gallery of the Queen, I went every two or three days if only to look at its window in the evening. It was part of my education.”
7, rue de Praetere.
pierremariegiraud.com
Galerie Xavier Hufkens
“This art gallery is already 32 years old and is impressive with its extension by architects Robbrecht en Daem.”
6-8, rue Saint-Georges.
xavierhufkens.com
Collectors Gallery
“Betty De Stefano specializes in artist and designer jewelry. She has impeccable taste. She is also one of those Brussels figures that I really like and who have always defended certain artistic values, who devote themselves entirely and over time to them. These are people like this that Brussels needs. Unfortunately, we do not sufficiently appreciate the value of our talents.”
12, rue des Minimes.
collectors-gallery.com
La Galerie Black House
“It’s my gallery, in Brussels, in the Rivoli Building. I love the idea of there being several galleries in the same building. The inaugurations take place on the same day, which creates a great dynamic. Elke Helbig does interesting work. I have always been very careful before partnering with a gallery because I have to really believe in the gallery owner, in their values and their human approach.”
690, Chaussée de Waterloo.
galeriezwarthuis.be
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His bargain hunting addresses
“I am no longer a collector, even if I never collected to keep, I sold a lot to start something else. Often, it’s an object that catches my eye because it’s strange, without necessarily being valuable or functional. At the moment, I’m working on my March 2025 exhibition and looking for old toys. Before I was always shopping and buying things I didn’t need. From now on, I travel light!”
Antiques
“On Place Jourdan, in Etterbeek, there is a funny little store, very surprising, I like to go there for the pleasure of the eyes.”
65, place Jourdan.
Haute Antiques
“I always discover beautiful pieces there. Even if I’m in a more pragmatic period where I prioritize my work. I am no longer tempted to look for a new mirror, since I already have one!”
207, rue Haute.
hauteantiques207.be
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Her fashion address
Style
“I hardly buy anything anymore. I do what we call shopping when I’m abroad, if I see a piece that I know I’ll wear for twenty years… The only place to mention here is this institution founded by Sonja Noël a year ago at forty years old. When I need a suit, I go to Stijl Homme.”
6, place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains.
stijl.be
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Its essential
The mint workshops
“It’s exceptional that such a place exists in Belgium, few opera houses work with so many artisans and artists… I advise everyone to go and visit these workshops. I have so much respect for their work, for the speed at which they accomplish it and for their freshness, even in difficult times, they are incredibly professional.
23, rue Léopold.
lamonnaiedemunt.be
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