Place du Grand Sablon

Place du Grand Sablon Review

"Sand Square" is where the people of Brussels come to see and be seen. Once, as the name implies, it was nothing more than a sandy hill. Today, it is an elegant square, surrounded by numerous restaurants, cafés, and antiques shops, some in intriguing alleys and arcades. Every weekend morning a lively antiques market of more than 100 stalls takes over the upper end of the square. It isn't for bargain hunters, however. Downhill from the square stands the Eglise de la Chapelle, dating from 1134. Inside, there's a memorial to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who was married and buried in this church. At the eastern end of the square stands the Eglise Notre-Dame du Sablon, a Flamboyant Gothic church founded in 1304 by the guild of crossbowmen (the original purpose of the square was crossbow practice) and rebuilt in the 15th century. One of Brussels' most beautiful churches, its cream exterior is undergoing a restoration due to finish in 2008, and at night the stained-glass windows are illuminated from within.