Place du Grand Sablon — Attraction in Brussels

Place du Grand Sablon is a nice square in the upper town. Here you find art galleries, high-end chocolate shops, restaurants as well as sightseeing. We recently stayed a few nights here during out visit Brussels and enjoyed being in this area of the city.

Historically, Grand Sablon saw an upper class neighbourhood built up in more recent centuries around the historic Blessed Lady of the Sablon. The church is considered one of the finest examples of Brabatine Gothic architecture in Belgium and is a nice place to visit.

Other quality sightseeing includes the small fountain of Minerva which was built on the square in 1751. There is also the very nice Petit Sablon garden just south of the church. Further area sightseeing includes the Royal Arts Museum complex just a few minutes away and the Grand Palace just a bit further. Further, the Grand Place (Grote Markt) and lower town are a mere 10 minutes away by foot.

During our time at Place du Grand Sablon, we enjoyed visiting a handful of the chocolate shops such as Patrick Roger, Pierre Marcolini and the small Passion Chocolat and found the restaurant scene to be quite good. We enjoyed meals at La Pizza E Bella, Hispania Brasserie, Sablon Pop-up, L'Entree des Artistes and La Rabassier during our visit.

In the end, we enjoyed our time spent on Place du Grand Sablon. This is an area of the city that we'd be happy to stay or at least spend some time during future trips...

The Place du Grand Sablon is a nice area to visit especially at the weekends when there’s an antiques market and there was maybe 50+ stalls selling some interesting things. Situated between the royal palace and the palace of justice, Sablon has always been an upper class district. Nowadays there’s less aristocratic undertones and more chic and trendy. So there’s lots of nice cafes and restaurants in the plaza as well as several upmarket chocolatiers such as Neuhaus and Pierre Marcolini.

The Church of Notre Dame du Sablon is also on the square, and worth combining...

An unusual and beautiful square that doesn’t follow the typical geometric shape (like round or rectangular) but is divided into several sections. The small circular part is beautifully landscaped with flowers, making it a delight to see. The whole square is filled with stylish cafés, restaurants, and elegant, eye-catching shops. One of the sculptures from the Brussels in Pink project (featuring the character Monsieur Rose) had also been installed in the square, adding a unique touch of joy and cheerfulness to the atmosphere. Highly recommended...