Fodor's Expert Review Place du Grand Sablon

Once nothing more than a sandy hill, "Sand Square" is now an elegant place, surrounded by numerous restaurants, cafés, and antiques shops, some in intriguing alleys and arcades. For a little tranquillity, pop into the beautiful Église Notre Dame du Sablon at the eastern end of the square, a flamboyant Gothic church founded in 1304. It's one of Brussels’s most beautiful churches, and at night its stained-glass windows are illuminated from within to magical effect. Opposite the Grand Sablon, you'll find the pretty garden place du Petit Sablon. It's surrounded by a magnificent wrought-iron fence, topped by 48 small bronze statues representing the city’s guilds.