In the more than beautiful galeries St-Hubert, in the old town, close to the Grand Place, is located the 3 floor bookstore Tropismes. It did not have all the books I wanted, but had a very nice selection. The people working there look like they know their field and are quite eager to help.

The large commercial street downtown seems to be rue Neuve. It includes the usual big name clothes stores. Walking towards the north, one eventually finds on their right a large shopping mall called City 2. On the top floor, there is a large bookstore called "fnac". It is simillar to Chapters (Canada) or Blackwells (UK) with lots of electronics and a wide selection of books, in many languages.

The easiest grocery shopping is at GB Supermarket, or GB Express. They are everywhere. The larger ones include an organic section which quality is good, but not the best I have seen (Marks and Spencers' is better). A very light meal can be made up of a couple of apples from an organic 5-pack (about 3.5 EUR) and a 5-slices pack of high quality Parma ham without preservatives,just pork and salt (about 5 EUR). Lots of choices of chocolates (mostly Galler, Cote d'Or, etc.) and of beers and wines. They also carry basic necessities, like combs, razors, pens and notebooks. They take cash or banking cards, but no credit cards. The biggest drawback is their opening hours: the one on rue des Tongres at Merode station was openned 9h30-19h30, Monday to Saturday.