Shopping in Brussels can almost be termed a sport, as a lot of the wealthy residents spend an awful lot of their time and money competing with each other for the best buys and designer goods. Head down to the Boulevard de Waterloo area Avenue Louise where all the designer shops and boutiques can be found. Here one can expect to see names such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace, Chanel and Bvlgari, to name a few. Specialty shops can be found in Rue Haute and Rue Blaes. The Rue Neuve is the main pedestrian shopping street and is coincidentally the longest one in Brussels. Here shoppers can find mostly international chain stores while more original independent stores are located between the Grand Place and the Rue Lemonnier. The Westland Shopping Mall boasts over 140 shops and has all the usual big department stores and trendy stores, great for clothing, jewellery, books and much more. Most shops close at approximately 6pm every day and sales tax is 21 percent, which can be refunded to non-EU citizens by any of the shops affiliated to Global Refund Belgium. Shops that participate will issue a global refund cheque and this can be stamped at customs and cashed upon leaving the country.
