Oldest Bar in Brussels

Hi, I am going to Brussels end of September and every time I travel I go to the oldest bar in town.

I would like to know which one is the oldest bar in Brussels once I was unable to get a clear answer reading the travel books.

I appreciate it.

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I don%26#39;t think there is a clear answer, and all would depend on whether you mean the age of the building or the establishment, which don%26#39;t usually coincide. For example, LA FLEUR EN PAPIER DORÉ, at 55 rue des Alexiens, is housed in a 16th-century house (very little from that time has survived in Brussels) but only became a bar in 1846, and is mostly associated with the surrealists, including Magritte, who frequented it in the 1930s.

AU BON VIEUX TEMPS claims to be %26quot;one of the oldest%26quot;, it%26#39;s at 4, Impasse St Nicolas which is a little alleyway off 12, Rue du Marché Aux Herbes, not far from the Grand%26#39; Place. The building is 17th century but the bar has apparently %26quot;only%26quot; been there since the late 19th, so much like the previous one.

Nearby, L’IMAIGE NOSTRE-DAME at 6-8 rue du Marché aux Herbes is also at the end of an alleyway, and is supposed to go back to the Renaissance (16th C) but while the building may be that old, I don%26#39;t believe the bar is. Not far away, in Impasse Schuddeveld off the Petite Rue des Bouchers, the bar attached to what is now the TOONE puppet theatre is also housed in a building dating from the early part of the Spanish occupation, around 1595: and here it does not seem unlikely that the pub also dates from that time (not the puppet theatre which dates from 1830 but has only been operating in its present premises for about 30 years).

It certainly feels older than LE ROY D%26#39;ESPAGNE in the Grand%26#39; Place, which apparently claims to be the oldest café in Brussels and to date from 1690: however, the entire GP was destroyed (by the French) in 1695 and rebuilt over the next 4 years, so in fact even the building can%26#39;t be as old as that, and these were originally used as guildhouses.

You could try all of these and try to come to some conclusion!

The heyday of Brussels bars and cafés was around 1904: examples are the Falstaff and Cirio, on either side of the Bourse, the Greenwich in rue des Chartreux and the Métropole in Pl. de Brouckère.

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Thank you very much.

Very helpful information.

I will take all your suggestions.

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http://alabecasse.com/en/history.html

Crisinha - you are so lucky to be going to Brussels! Fabulous place - scruffy but so much to see.

The link above will take you to a tavern I heartily recommend for the Brussels lambic and geueze beers sold here. The food is basic but quick and, as with most Belgian cafes, very tasty. The tavern isn%26#39;t the oldest but it is a friendly establishment in the centre of town (don%26#39;t be alarmed by the overgrown alleyway!)...

Paul ;-)

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Thank you so much Paul. I will definately check it out.