ARCADES PROJECT

This 1882 arcade lies just north of the city centre in Brussels. With grand columns marking its entrance on the Boulevard, and high ceilings almost as impressive as its neighbours in the Galeries Royales, the Passage du Nord is a three-storey building decorated with nymphs and cherubs, lovely hanging lamps, and an impressive clock up above the covered walkway.

Although quite a lot shorter than its illustrious counterpart in the Galeries du Roi and de la Reine, the Passage du Nord has so much to look out for.

The glass ceiling for one thing: it combines a curved glass section and a sloping section in the middle, giving a complex pattern of glass letting in light below. The arcade needs its lamps though, lining the shop fronts at both ground floor level and upstairs along the balcony: the narrowness of this arcade means that that glass roof doesn’t really let sunlight reach down three storeys.

The sculptures that line the balcony and the upper floors are worth gazing up to, with cheeky smiles on some, a more classic look to others. But look down also in order not to miss the patterned stained glass that lines the base of the shop fronts.

The shops are also a nice mix or high-end (shoes, opticians, the old knife shop, my favourite), with some of the signage above the shop fronts taking us back to earlier occupants. And if you look back along the length of the arcade from the Place de Brouckere towards rue Neuve, nostalgic Brits might enjoy seeing the familiar old logo for C&A, missing from UK High Streets for decades now, but still going strong in some European countries.

It’s hard to tell whether they are original features or not, but a couple of the shops have retained their spiral staircase inside the small shop unit: one in wood, the other I spotted in metal.

My favourite shop today

The Coutellerie du Roi, meaning the King’s Knife Shop, still sells only knives and is an impressive sight, although impossible to make a purchase you can safely take on public transport. I did wonder which king had given the shop its name – I must go in and ask next time I’m in Brussels.

My pick of the arcade’s past

The arcade opened in 1882 with 32 shops and a museum. Now just 20 shops and the museum has been converted to flats and offices. There still remains, apparently, a ‘Musee du Nord’ plaque on the outside, but I didn’t manage to find it.

On its way to the Paris Exhibition of 1900, an astronomical clock was on display in the Passage du Nord in 1899 – it ended up staying in the arcade for several years. Designed by a German called Noll, it marked the various feast days of the religious calendar with birds and other animals winding their way around the clock to the chimes of the clock mechanism. It was designed to mark the days and seasons – and the hour – for 100 years, as long as it was wound up every month.

In 1904 the Flemish Theatre hit the world press when its actors and musicians all went on strike over non-payment for a month. The theatre was full for a performance of Les Deux Orphelines – a drama set in the French Revolution – but the audience had to be sent home without any entertainment.

This arcade in films or books

I have yet to find any films featuring scenes set in Passage du Nord, but surely there must be some. Can anyone help?

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Is there a website for this arcade?

Yes an excellent website, which can be found at the link here, and it has English and Dutch versions as well as the French. The arcade is also active on Instagram and Facebook.