The Rue Neuve and its close surroundings are the second most popular shopping area in Belgium by number of shoppers, after Meir in Antwerp.
History
The Rue Neuve was originally laid out in 1617, as part of larger urban development projects. It was first called the Rue Neuve Notre-Dame/Nieuwe-Lieve-Vrouwestraete ("Our Lady's New Street"), after the Church of Our Lady of Finisterrae, which now stands in the middle of the retail district, then the Longue Rue Neuve/Lange Nieuwstraat ("Long New Street"). At the end of the 18th century, it took the name Rue Van der Noot/Van der Nootstraat, after Henri Van der Noot, a leading figure of the Brabant Revolution, who lived at the corner of the Rue Saint-Michel/Sint-Michielsstraat.
In 1839, the street was extended in a straight line from the Rue de la Blanchisserie/Blekerijstraat to the Boulevard du Jardin botanique/Kruidtuinlaan, thus establishing a link to the new North Station. The proximity of the station led to the construction of hotels for travellers. After the creation of the South Station and the opening of the Rue du Midi/Zuidstraat, the Rue Neuve became part of Brussels' main north–south axis. It has been a centre of commercial activity since at least the end of the 19th century, and was known as a centre of luxury shopping in the early 20th century. The street was pedestrianised in 1975.
The Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat on a busy day
Nowadays, the Rue Neuve is home to popular international chains (H&M, C&A, Zara, Primark), as well as the City 2 and Inno shopping galleries. The street has the second highest rents of any street in Belgium, at €1,600/square metre/year (the Meir shopping street in Antwerp ranks first, with €1,700/square metre/year). However, it has been criticised by some for being too "boring" architecturally, uniformly "mass market", lacking in independent retailers, without variety of uses, and with very few residents. The City of Brussels has plans to bring more residents to the street and to make it more "attractive".
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