I'm not reviewing too many shops on this trip because I basically only brought a backpack and I…read moreonly review stores I make purchases from, so you know what that means! Brusel is located right in the heart of the city along with a ton of other shops, but this one....this one hit different. I went into probably five or six different comic book shops in Brussels and this one was my absolute favourite. On the lower level of the shop you have all of the comic trades, the manga, and a bunch of random other things like Smurfs figures and Studio Ghibli stuff along with the cash register to pay. Upstairs is a random shrine to Harry Potter with a ton of his merchandise and even a hanging display of owls, Harry Potter fan or not, it's very very cool. Overall, Brusel is my favourite comic store in the city and the store we each picked up four comics to bring home with us. This store should be on any comic lovers list of places to stop!

This is the comic book shop without the clutter and far more streamlined. Was walking past and had…read moreseen Brusel's a few times prior, their storefront semi-piquing my interest but never enough for me to enter. This time around I walked by and caught a glimpse of a gorgeous framed Blacksad poster/picture and was like holy crap... I think I can finally buy that book. Sure enough they had everything plus an art book. It did cross my mind to just go buy it on Amazon, but it was just so in the moment. Long story short, I splurged a little. This place really will ruin your wallet. I almost ended up buying even more books and a few adorable French zines. Languages for the books vary from French, Flemish to English and a small section in Japanese. Their manga section was also really fun and I love the European publication style to their Manga which is almost 1:1 to Japanese print in size and feel unlike American publications. Almost nabbed a few of those too... They also have an upstairs and downstairs filled with framed artwork which I assume are actual originals, but if not, my mistake. They all looked very nice and well displayed. They require you to leave your bag at the front if you are to look at them and enforce no photo policy of the artwork, since I was semi in a rush, I opted to not look at gorgeous art for hours... sigh. Brusel's also packs lots of other fandom items from Harry Potter, Batman, etc.. the like. Things like wands and themed chest boards. Seriously would have killed my entire wallet here... The damage was only one very expensive and gorgeous graphic novel.

Nice second hand vintage store !…read more It is a luxury vintage store with furniture. Really elegant furniture: If I was rich I would buy everything here. You feel at home here in the store and the owner is really easy going. We were there at 11 o'clock in the morning and we asked if we could order something (there is a bar in the store) and the guy said the bar is not open until 12... a bit stupid of him because we would have consumed. A place to recommend if you like old vintage (style art deco) furniture. They also have some clothes.

Sterling is small but prolific. I stopped in because I had completed book #45 of the year and…read moreneeded a new paper friend for the next leg of my travels. I obviously chose the right place. They have an awesome collection of English books. Many fiction titles, too! I had to stop myself at two books but I'm me so I could've hauled out with half the store if I had the space and money. When you go to the cashier, you'll note FREE bookmarks made by the staff. It's fantastic and I grabbed one for sure. Much better than a tissue (my go-to bookmark).

Small book shop but you can find an amazing collection of books in English there. Last best sellers…read moreand publications but also indie spirited books. Without a doubt, the best thing about this place is the treatment you get as a client. You can freely browse around without the librarians offering help and discovering that you are just a tourist that shouldn't be there because books are heavy and you haven't payed for an extra piece of luggage and your carry-on is already at its limits. When do you need help, they offer you the best help, as if you were their best client. Anyway, I have also have to confess than while I was browsing around I overthead the librarians trying to find a book for a client. This client had called or came by the day before asking for a book "about *phy" and did not know much more about it, just that it was grey. The thing is, if I were a librarian probably would give up, but they were seriously putting a lot of effort into it. This happened in my towns library once. The librarians just started to laugh at the client when the person left. That is why we shouldn't take this amazing service for granted. Please don't miss the spot.

Good quality souvenir t-shirts that offered different patterns than the ubiquitous beer, waffles,…read moreand fries of the other souvenir t-shirts. They also have European Union t-shirts that are embroidered. Prices were a little high at €37 for two tees, but the style is something that I would be proud to wear at home and did not look touristy cheesy.

Ahh, a Belgium comic book store. Actually, I discovered this place (and the one next door) as I was…read moreattempting to make my way to a laundromat and made the decision to head back here the next morning before we caught the train to Ghent. Personally, I'm glad I did, but then again since I discovered them there wasn't going to be anything stopping me from coming down here to have a look around. All I can say is that these places literally blow the comic book stores that I am used to completely out of the water namely because the Belgium and French comics seem to be on a completely different level than what you get from America and Japan. However, I am a long time fan of Tintin (and to a lesser extend Asterix), so any comics (or should I say graphic novels) in that style are going to grab my attention.