Grand Place (Grote Markt)

The Grand Place (Grote Markt) is the ceremonial heart of Brussels and one of the most photographed squares in Belgium. Surrounded by seventeenth-century guildhalls with gilded facades, the cobbled square is dominated by the Gothic Town Hall, whose 96-metre spire was completed in the fifteenth century, and by the neo-Gothic Maison du Roi, which houses the Brussels City Museum. Most of the buildings were rebuilt after the French bombardment of 1695, and the square has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Visitors typically spend one to two hours walking the perimeter, reading the guildhall emblems, such as the golden horse and the copper-coloured symbols above the doorways, and stopping at cafes and chocolate shops in the surrounding streets. Entering the Town Hall is possible only on a guided visit, which shows the state rooms and tapestries for roughly 10 euros. The City Museum on the north side holds the original Manneken Pis costumes, models of the medieval city and Brabant sculpture. The best vantage points are the centre of the square, where the full ring of facades can be seen, and the corner by Rue au Beurre, which frames the Town Hall tower. Early morning, before 09:00, offers an empty square and soft light for photographs, while the evening illumination, with a sound and light show on some nights, shows the gilding at its best. Midday and summer afternoons are the most crowded, with tour groups filling the centre. The square hosts a Christmas market in December, a flower market on some dates and, in August of even-numbered years, the Flower Carpet, in which hundreds of thousands of begonias are laid out across the cobbles. The square is free to enter at any hour, and the nearby Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert and Rue des Bouchers restaurant street are an easy continuation of the walk.