What Godiva Grand Place is known for

Godiva's Grand Place boutique is part of a chocolate house that began in Brussels in 1926. The brand's own history dates the opening on the square to 1958, distinct from the founding of Pierre Draps Sr.'s workshop. Its chocolate range includes pralines and truffles, with gift boxes for sharing or taking home.

Godiva was founded in Brussels in 1926, when the Belgian chocolatier Pierre Draps Sr. began handcrafting chocolates in his workshop there. The house takes its name and its emblem from the tale of Lady Godiva, and it has kept the Belgian origin as the centre of its identity through a century of trading.

What the house makes its case on is sourcing and finish: cacao, nuts, fruits and spices selected specifically, and a preoccupation with the physical qualities of the finished piece, the snap of the shell and the texture of a ganache. Its Masterpiece line is the one most often reached for, and the boxed tins and calendars are built to be kept after the chocolates are gone.

Be clear-eyed about what this is. Godiva is a global house rather than a small maker, and its chocolate is widely available. The Brussels connection is genuine and the century of practice is real; the rarity is not.