The Royal Galleries Saint Hubert, built in 1847 by the young architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer, inspired by the Italian Renaissance and using modern iron and glass technology. modern iron and glass technology. He created a covered street with the appearance of a "glass palace" that blends perfectly into the urban landscape. The complex is actually made up of three galleries: the Queen's Gallery, the King's Gallery and the Princes' Gallery. They are the world's first commercial galleries of monumental character and their design revolutionized the architectural style of this type of passageway that had begun in Paris but now reached a new dimension. They were followed by European galleries such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and The Passage in St. Petersburg.

The name of the galleries comes from the previous small medieval artery, known as Saint-Hubert Street, on whose axis the grandiose project was based and which today is also known as "the umbrella of Brussels". Its realization caused the demolition of 49 houses and allowed the renovation and modernization of the center of Brussels. It also allowed the connection of the upper and lower parts of the city, the revitalization of trade and the creation of a luxurious commercial and leisure area.

Taverne du Passage, located at number 30 of the Galerie de la Reine, was an important meeting place for painters and writers of the time Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas or Edgar Quinet met in the place known until 1892 as Café des Arts. Surrealist painters such as the famous Magritte, to whom we owe the ceiling of the Théâtre Royal des Galeries, and the artists of the Cobra group, were also regular customers. In the galleries you can have one of the best waffles in Brussels in Dandoy, see the first Neuhaus store, buy chocolates in Mary, taste the coffees of Aksum and visit the beautiful Tropismes bookstore.

And one more fact. The Tour de France passed through these galleries in 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the victory of Eddie Merckx, the most important Belgian cyclist in history, in the Tour de France.