The criteria to choose this places to talk about was very simple: we wanted to talk about places that makes us feel something, no matter if it makes us hate it or love it, but that makes us want to talk about it.

So, is there any other place in Brussels that makes you want to talk about it?

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Grand Place

I began my tour to grand place from the Royal Palace walked by the Old English and next to the Royal Library, eventually reaching the Grand Place. When crossing by Old English a person can see perhaps one of the nicest views of the place from the far.

Here you can clearly see majestic city hall tower, the statue in the park, and the nice houses in between the city hall and the park – it all looks amazing. The lawns look manicured and clean, one can see some ads, but they all are tastefully down.

However, as one gets closer to the place, one comes across a series of the low-price, fast-food restaurants and this tourist shops which are filled with low quality touristy goods. All this gives you impression of the place being exploited and touristy rather than historical and majestic.

All of the iconic Brussels symbols can be found on practically anything, starting from the wine-opener, to plates, to magnets, and t-shirts. In my opinion, this takes away from the integrity of those symbols by making them look like a means to an end for shop owners to get money off you any way the can.

When you finally enter the Grand Place, you see how incredible it is. The Maison du Roi with its finely crafted sculptures, in its gothic style, overwhelms your senses. The City Hall with the incredibly tall tower and the finely crafted statues on the side of this gothic building amazes you. In the south-eastern part of the plaza, there are fine examples of the Louis XIV style. However, the red and green stripped canvasses take away so much from the beauty of this place. All the sudden it looks like something that can be found in the factious streets of Las Vagas among the other remakes such as Venice or Paris. Which physically amazes you, but it feels devoid of any spirit – just an empty box in the word that becoming more and more globalised and generic. In other words, it looks gimmicky and cheap and that clashes greatly with ceremonious and grand design of the building and the place itself.

At the exit that leads to La Bourse there are more of these gimmicky shops selling all the touristy stuff that you will never use. There are few diamond stores in between. However, they look so shabby, that to this day I still cannot believe they carry luxurious diamonds. They look like cheap quickie stores back in Canada, where you can get all your junk food and pop, or make a copy of a key. In other words, they look like back street merchants, which do not inspire you with confidence, rather than prestigious diamond vendors.

ULB

They say never judge a book by its cover, but most people cannot help but to base their attitude towards something by their first impression. My first impression of the university campus was not of high regard, to put it softly. Coming here, I was expecting to find an old European university that looks something like University Oxford or University of Bolognia, or at very least like old universities in Canada, such as University of Toronto.

Before coming to the university, I looked up some photos of ULB on internet to get an idea of what the ULB is like. Pictures I saw on internet were those of the building A, and of the Library. So obviously, coming here, I had high expectations of the University. When I finally arrived here, I entered the university not from the avenue Franklin Roosevelt side, but instead from the Avenue Adolphe Buyl side. It was right away obvious to me that I did not enter through the parade entrance.

First buildings that I saw were building P and U. These buildings rather reminded me of Junior-High Schools from Soviet Union. Because the asphalt was broken and the buildings looked worn out, these buildings did not even look like a good soviet school (or even average). It looked like a school somewhere in a small Ukrainian village that cannot afford to pay for the upkeep.

Ukrainian Public School

ULB: Building P

Next, I, and some other people, went to the ‘Logement’ office in order to look at advertisements for an accommodation. Advertisements were location in the residence building, which to me looked like a building from the poor part of Ukraine. My Brazilian friend called it a favela, referring to how it reminded him of slums in Brazil. The public space in front of the residence was in the same state as the courtyard in front of my building in Ukraine in 1990s. During those times, Ukraine for the first time attained its independence, and because of this fact, the country was facing many financial problems and could not maintain public property. When I went back in 2005, all things were fixed and everything was clean (except the roads, they are as bad as always). In other words, to me, ULB now looks like Ukraine when it was on the brink of bankruptcy (except with better roads).

Next thing that affected my impression of the school was the actual experience dealing with the university. I found that there is little support for exchange students, to find out information on the special events, clubs, and other advantages that you get attending this university. This has diminished my overall experience during the first semester. In addition, I found that the bureaucracy here is a total mess. Teachers occasionally do not come to class. It is hard to figure out where the course takes place as they can sometime move the class with little or no notice. There are many different tools to find out information and two or more of them can give you conflicting information. For example, to get information about a class there are: My-SBS, MonULB, teacher’s website, and the class rep (who I never met, as I am just an exchange student). To get my exam schedule I was told to use three tools, AuroraWeb, Portail MonULB, and Gehol. However, even then, I did not found out my entire exam schedule so I had to email my classmate, who sent an email to class rep, and then I received an email with the schedule for one of my classes. It seems the school is suffering from disorganization and the problem of communication between the administration and students. The whole system is not streamlined and is very complex compared to my university back in Canada.

The new building, where most of my classes take place, also does not look good in my opinion. First, it seems so different from the overall architecture of the university you are not sure if it is a part of the same institution. Second, the light bluish walls already look old. The material that they chose to use for the wall is also very bad looking. It reminds me of the maritime houses, which look cute but feeble. To me it does not convey the message of elite business school but instead a junior-high school with no child left behind policy somewhere in suburbs.

Canadian Maritime House

The new Solvay Building

Overall, I think there are many things that this university should do to better market itself. Based on all experiences I had with the school, I would choose is as a university to do my masters at, even though I do want to do my masters outside of North America.

Rue de la Fourche

In my opinion, Rue de le Fourche is very elegant and well done. This could be considered as one of the finest examples of how marketing can positively contribute positively to the image of the city. The reason why this is so is that when you enter the street (I did it through the Galleries Royales Saint-Hubert) you know that this is a shopping street. Therefore, all marketing, which done in the gallery, is expected. Even though all the shops there are trying to promote themselves, the marketing there still does not feel violating. There is no pushy advertising jumping out on you trying to grab your attention or convince you to enter the store. Nevertheless, when you pass shopping windows you cannot do anything but to stop and look at the beautiful display of the goods stores have to offer.

Once you pass the Gallery du Roi you hit onto Rue de Grétry, a street filled with charming little restaurants. Each one of them are trying to convey a message of comfort by displaying an inviting atmosphere, yet at same time, each one of them tries to be unique in hopes of attracting customers. The host standing outside the restaurant and trying to convince you to come in and eat was unpleasant for me, since I have never experienced anything like that in Canada. However, overall, the positives of the street outweigh the negatives.

In the end, the reasons why I like Rue de la Fourche compared to other places such grand place are simple: when you enter the area, you are aware of what is in there so you are ready to face it. Still, the marketing in Rue de la Fourche is tacked away and does not get in one’s way hence you do not feel that it violates your privacy and space. It is there if you choose to pay attention (and if you are not too busy), however at the same time, you can easily ignore it if you have other things on your mind or looking for something else, like architecture etc.

ULB:

From the first day of my erasmus, everyday I faced with different experiences in Brussels. The big experince is ULB. First of all, this university is like all other universities with its coffe stops, fast-food shops and restaurant. The environment is typical university that you can see around the world.There are some students activities news on the notice board. In the early morning of course you cannot see anybody, but it is full of students at midday. There is a tradition in ULB that I am not good with. They call is TD Parties. The second week of my Brussels adventure, some of my friends took me to a party that called TD. It is a very important tradition in Brussels. In the party, I was not good with this tradition. People from TD wear a different clothes like only made of cloth. Everybody throws beer to the crowed and they relly have good time with that. At the time that I was out of the party, I was so angry and nervous. I realised that, for local people this takes a big part of their culture. In my idea, it was so ugly that I never have been in a TD party again. In the anniversary day of ULB I realised that there were many old people drinking beers with young TD students. And they have the same hats that the students wear all the time. In that moment, I realised that it is one of the most important tradition in Brussels. There are some pubs that only serves to university students. I mosty see TD students in these places with their own clothes and hats. I think this is one of the marketing strategies that is also used for Brussels. They have their own parties, in their own style. Also, it is not easy to be one of them. You have to face with many difficult eliminations to be one of them. But when you click on Google and search for pubs in Brussels, most of the official travel advisory web sites emphasize on TD students and the special student pubs. Even their entertainment style is so different than I prefer, they keep it strong and use it for their marketing ideas. They creat their own image and most of the people like that image. Obviously, it is crucial to gain the loyalty of customers' to be successful in the long-term marketing. In my opinion, this is one of the examples that I faced with.

Place Flagey:

Place Flagey is one of the place in Brussels that shows the soul of the city. One day I was on my way, but don't know where Iwas going. The third day in Brussels and I was walking just to see the city sights. I came to a big square that has everything inside of it. There are some water ornaments in the middle of the square. The water comes from the ground directly and there are some children who tries to catch them, play with them. There was a bus-stop that looks like a bus station. One of my favourite place is the corner that there is a fries shop. They have delicious fries and I eat from there everytime I go to Flagey. The best part is the bazaar on Sunday. They open I big bazaar to the square that includes many stores. It reminds me a old style of village. When you look from the outside, it looks like everybody knows each other name by name. There is a butcher, a flower seller, a clothes seller, many kinds of little mobile little shops. At the corner of Flagey there is old building called Maison de la Radio, that has many kinds of art events as movies, musicals etc. This place is full of memories and old buildings. But there are some specificchanges that changes the old style of the place. For example, the shopping market Delhaize is the first supermarket in Belgium and Isaw one of its old photos and they changes the old style. If I never read about it, I would never now it. I think the basic reason is based on the idea of what is beautiful and what is ugly. In my opinion, keeping the old style is always beautiful. In his articleRelationships Among Experiential Marketing, Experiential Value, and Customer Satisfaction,Yi-Hua Yuan and Chihkang Wu claimed that, "Moreover, the overall outcome suggests that experiential marketing should induce customer satisfaction through emotional and functional values provided by feel perception, think perception, and service quality." (2008, pg. 389), the marketing of the city sights and the beauty of the city should include the idea of showing the value of the city and not to change it.

Grand Place:

As an erasmus student in Brussels, one of the first place that I wanted to see was Grand Place. I saw many photos of the square, but it was amazing to see it closer and experience the beauty of the oldbuildings. The Grand-Place is an outstanding example of the highly successful blending of architectural and artistic styles that characterizes the culture and society of this region. The nature and quality of the architecture and the outstanding quality as a public open space, it gives the sense of city sights beauty. The most important reason that I love this place because I like to live in a city that has the historical buildings and life style combined in the daily life. I am from Istanbul, Turkey. I love Istanbul, because everyday I took the tram to go to my university and on your way you can see the old buildings. The life goes on within those buildings, like it happens in Brussels. The historical buildings are not only the place to take photos and watch. They have the feeling of living and surviving by the time, getting more beautiful. Around the Grand Place you can find many pubs and specialised stores for chocolates, beers etc.

In my culture, beer is important but not much as Brussels. So, it was amazing to see many kinds of beers in one store and many products based on as I called 'beer culture'. Also I realised that fries is so important for Belgium people. Before I came here, I liked fries. But it is not a very special delicious food for me. Actually it is good because it is cheap and the smell of it is disgusting. The first time, I realised that it is such a big deal in Brussels, I gave up to see it as an easy, cheap fast-food, but it is also a part of tradition. It is important for local people, and they really care about their food. In old times my face was always in a ugly when I took the smell of the fries. Now, I eat alot and actually I really like it.

Grand Place

This is probably the most “touristy” place in Brussels, if not in Belgium, and it is easy to understand why. Aesthetically speaking, the Grand Place is generally considered as one of the most beautiful places in Europe. To accede it, one need to pass through the surrounding neighborhoods, which mostly means pleasant feelings and special atmosphere.

Also, a number of little attractions and (old-school) activities are often present there. Artists (musicians, imitators), sponsored events, Christmas decorations, all those factors contribute to make it a largely appreciated place.

Finally, this is worth to say a little word about the cafés and restaurants around the place. Most of them are really enjoyable and stylish, but… in my opinion it still doesn’t justify to pay such a high price for a cup of coffee. Never mind, that’s a classical situation in places for tourists.

ULB campus

The ULB campus in Ixelles is characterized by a number of key places, each one representing specific feelings and experiences for students. Though it is difficult to define a university’s goals as profit-oriented, people’s reactions can be related to behavioral studies about marketing.

To be concrete, students are looking for a pleasant -or, at least, appropriate- experience through the infrastructures they are offered, either for studying activities, housing and so on. But how are the different aesthetic environments perceived on the campus?



To start from a descriptive point of view, there are different categories of buildings on the campus. Some are almost historical, and either friendly-looking, as the Law Faculty building, or not really that beautiful (U building, P and D zones) or seriously ugly (H bunker). On the other hand, the more recent and modern Solvay building, or the library, are example of (aesthetically) well-managed places. But if the library is -largely- appreciated for its accommodations and its practical side, it is funny to see how differently people react about the Solvay building, some finding it megalomaniac, other -Solvay students- being proud of it. Personally, I feel indifferent about it -though I find it too bad not to have the Janson‘s garden anymore, for summer barbecue parties- , but this illustrates identification processes to a faculty -or another.

On the housing side, things are quite simple, as there are three complexes attached to the Solbosch; two of them are a bit older (Nelson Mandela and Héger residence) and the last one is recent (De Page residence). By experience, the different characteristics are as follows:

De Page offers bigger rooms and a better equipment in general, but of course at a more expensive price, and provides a far less convivial atmosphere

Héger and Mandela are quite similar, the latter being a little bit more expensive, but providing personal bathrooms

Once again, those housing residences make different experiences available to students. The choice finally depends on personal needs, and on the relative importance of cognitive and affective factors.

Finally, the numerous services students can benefit from, either inside faculties (SEP publications) or at the PUB library are unanimously appreciated, I think. Moreover, it addresses as well to people willing to buy every book and reference, in a tidy environment, as to ones suffering from procrastination (thanks to the SEP for example).



Rue de la Fourche

The main reason why this place is well-known by the student community is probably the presence of the Delirium bar, a place especially popular to Erasmus students, and with the reputation to provide all existing types of beer. To be more realistic, let’s say that it is complicated to find one they don’t have.

The Delirium benefits from a good image, but also from a very interesting implementation, next to the center, in a neighborhood with great tourist attractions. It is also appreciated for its old-fashioned, Middle-aged looking, but still really friendly atmosphere.

In the surrounding, there are a lot of interesting activities, principally restoration. Most of the establishments are pizzerias, or other Italian places, and it is funny to see how they adapted themselves to the schedule of the Delirium. Meaning, when someone arrives, they go directly to convince the client to sit down at their table. And this “Mediterranean” way of inviting people is generally more successful towards the Belgian when he has already warmed up… That’s why the surroundings restaurants largely remain open late during the night.

This part of the centre offers a variety of distractions that make it really enjoyable for students and people from everywhere. Apart from Little Italy, there is also a two-streets little district with Asian commerce and restoration, some well-known Irish pubs, and the legendary McDonald’s of the Bourse!

Place Flagey

This is also a place frequently visited by students, especially during summer, when it is possible to enjoy life having a drink at the Belga café, next to Ixelles’ lake.

The Belga is a place really popular to students and there are several reasons to explain it. Practically, this is a big café with an enormous terrace, and a vast choice of drinks. Hence it is an ideal place for big groups. Moreover, the atmosphere is quite pleasant and cozy. And finally, special events are frequently organized on place (concerts, theatre, giant screen during the World Cup, fireworks for the new year…).

If the Belga is probably the main attraction, the recently-ended communal works to renovate the place weren’t at all that appreciated, neither by the local residents, nor by drivers. A renovation that finally lasted more than six years, and was said to have harmed badly local little commerce.

Rue de la Fourche

For this location I think it’s important to judge its aesthetic appeal taking into account the senses. Visually it’s very appealing as there is bright colours and candlelight. With the awnings coverings the eating areas As it has a plethora of restaurants, all of them have their seafood on display in order to entice you to eat there.
For some the look of seafood may be off-putting but as for me I love seafood so seeing it does in fact tempt me to eat it. From an olfactory perspective there is the constant smell of seafood. This is a double edged sword for business, because the smell of seafood disgusts most people. To be honest it doesn’t really bother me however, if the seafood has been sitting too long I can tell by the smell and this grosses me out. The street has a certain feel to it. There are heat lamps which provide warmth so you can enjoy your food outside not matter what the weather. Tension is always in the air as the maître d’s are always trying to convince people to eat at their restaurant as opposed to their competitors. This leads into the auditory aspect, there is always someone trying to get your attention. Besides this, there are always a lot of tourists trying to push their way through this narrow street in order to get to Delirium or Jeannekin Pis. With this in mind I think the beauty of this street is controlled by the senses.

Grand Place

This is one of the most popular tourist areas in Brussels and I can understand why. To me this is truly a beautiful area. I love the look and feel of the place. I understand that this is a popular tourist location, so naturally like any tourist to a new city I had to visit. The first time I visited this location I was awe-struck by the overwhelming beauty of the place. I felt like there was so much history surrounding me that I could not help but get swept away with the magic. I was worried though however, that once I had seen it once that I wouldn’t want to come back. That has not been the case I have been back several times and each time I feel like there are new things to discover.
There is no cognitive dissonance for me in terms of Grand Place-the experience. I feel satisfaction every time I visit it. Its beauty does not diminish but rather just changes. Every time there are new things to see. What I have noticed though is that the amount of enjoyment I pull from a place depends on my mood. If I feel stressed then I may not appreciate the experience as much.

Place Flagey

I think this is a fabulous part of Ixelles and it is always teaming with life. As I happen to live really close to Place Flagey I might actually be a bit biased as I tend to spend a lot of time here. I love the combination of businesses with the ponds it adds just a touch of novelistic romance to a very practical setting.
It also is constantly changing, whether there are events happening or markets, Place Flagey is never stagnant. I like the feel of this place. It seems to have its own rhythm, its own heartbeat of sorts. There is always something going on and it manages to gather people of all ages and background. There is a beauty in something that can bring people together. It seems to be suited to a student’s life complete with bars, restaurants and even more practical aspects like banks, grocery stores and transit station for buses and trams.
On top of it all the surrounding picturesque scenery manages to top everything off. I feel that Place Flagey is a very beautiful area as it adheres to my conceptions of a stereotypical European square. I can how some may feel that it is ugly as it’s usually crowded and sometimes filled with garbage. This may diminish the effect Place Flagey has the average person. There also tend to be a lot of traffic and therefore a lot of noise which can also take away some the beauty. Generally, I like Place Flagey and find it extremely aesthetically pleasing.

ULB Campus

Naturally since I am a student studying at ULB I spend a lot of my time on campus. Since the physical campus itself is a form of marketing for the school and its program the aesthetics of the campus may play a large role. My initial impression of the campus is that it is a mess. The buildings were obviously constructed in different decades and therefore do not really seem to fit with each. My first reaction to the U building is that it reminded me of a North American prison or juvenile hall. This is probably due to cultural reasons as most prisons that I have seen resemble the building. It’s funny how when you research ULB on the internet it romanticizes the older, more vintage looking buildings with the big wooden doors and almost gothic looking roof however in reality students do not take classes on these buildings.
What do I find aesthetically pleasing is the small residential type building that house part of the Solvay business school. I like the feeling that it is integrated within the city and they paint a very charming and cozy picture. Again I am used to skyscrapers and square buildings therefore the houses are nice change of scenery.
I would have to say that my biggest criticism is the amount of construction currently on campus. I always find the look of scaffolding and dumpsters to be extremely ugly. I if you think about it the renovations should ultimately improve the look of the building, but I the mean time it just makes the campus look chaotic and cluttered. This is why construction is usually done in the summer when the campus is not so populated. Overall I would say that campus itself has some beautiful features however, for the most part I do not find the campus very aesthetically pleasing. There was some cognitive dissonance as it did not in fact meet my expectation.

Place Flagey

Place Flagey

Whenever I need to go somewhere, being it to downtown or to friend’s house, I usually have to go through Place Flagey. I have heard that it is an important area, however, living not far from it I still yet to understand why. My first impression of the place was that it looks important. The Flagey (Radio Building) is built in a way that reminds me of the Canadian Public Buildings (government owned buildings), in particular the York Region’s Main Administrative Centre

I remember my second day in Belgium, I was passing Place Flagey, and there some people that were coming out of Le Flagey and a few were giving interview to a news network. Next, I saw the beautiful bus stop with the different glass panels, and the huge video screen. Just near the Place, there is amazing open area with the lakes and the fountains that shoot out of the ground. So with those things in mind I thought that there must be a lot (or at least a few) important stores. It reminded me of the Dundas Square in Toronto, an important square which hosts many important events, as well is in the heart of the entertainment and shopping district, one of the biggest and chicest shopping mall in Toronto is just next to it.

However, after coming to the plaza and nothing special, just few small stores Delhaize and Frites Flagey, I just concluded that it is just an urban park, which does not contain anything. It just an open space, that does not offer much. Right now, for me, it is just a transit cross point.