Photo: Wikimedia CommonsThe Belgian Quarter, or Belgisches Viertel, is the coolest shopping district in Cologne, a grid of streets around Brusseler Platz packed with independent fashion boutiques, design shops, record stores and cafes. It is where locals go for something beyond the high street. Browse the independent labels and concept stores, pause at a pavement cafe on Brusseler Platz, and go in the late afternoon as the bars fill up.