Stadsfeestzaal

An easily overlooked local landmark, the Stadsfeestzaal (Town Festival Hall), designed by architect Alexis Van Mechelen, started its multifunctional life in 1908 and remained a central and important cultural institution for much of the last century. In December 2000 a major fire destroyed everything but the steel roof structure, the concrete build of the monumental staircases and the historic facades. In 2007 the Stadsfeestzaal reopened, reinvented, surprise surprise, as an urban mall, with 40 stores devoted to fashion, leisure, food and hospitality. The modern stores appear slightly at odds with the shiny-shiny gold leaf that dominates this somewhat spectacular space that feels like a converted grand railway station. There's no harm in taking advantage of its dual entrance, using it as a ticklingly elaborate passageway between the Meir shopping street and Hopland, which is the extension of exclusive and fashiony Schuttershofstraat.