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BRUSSELS - A GRAND PLACE
 The greatest sightseeing highlight of the Belgian capital
is the Grand'Place. Quite apart from the permanent visual feast in one of Europe's finest
city squares, several major festive events are centred on this traditional
marketplace.
There is music and a Sound and Light show every evening from Easter until late September,
when the floodlit facades look as if made of delicate Brussels lace. For most of the year,
colourful flower stalls appear almost daily, while every Sunday sees a flourishing pet and
bird market.
Every year, a 3-day jazz marathon takes place in mid-May, with some shows elsewhere in the city.
For 2007 it's 25-27 May.
Then on July 3-5 hordes of actors in
16th-century costume re-enact a historic procession called the Ommegang Renaissance,
complete with horses and jousters - 1400 performers altogether.
Travel Facts
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TRAVEL FACTS
Central Brussels divides into the Lower Town around the Grand'Place; and the Upper Town
around the Royal Palace. There's a steep climb from Lower to Upper, and it's worth taking
a taxi. Make sure your footwear can cope with cobbles.
In Belgium, half the population speak French, but the other half speak Flemish, which
doubles as Dutch. Brussels is half-and-half, totally bilingual, with street names in both
languages. Most Belgians can speak English.
Shops and banks are generally open 9-12 hrs and 14-18 hrs. Tourist shops are open Sundays,
while museums close mostly on Mondays.
What to buy: chocolate, lace, beer, tobacco.
More information: Tourism Flanders-Brussels, 1a Cavendish Sq., London W1G 0LD.
Tel: 0207 307 7738. Brochure line 0800-9545-245. Web:
www.visit
flanders.co.uk
or Belgian Tourist Office Brussels & Wallonia, 217 Marsh Wall, London E14 9FJ.
Brochures: 0800-9545-245.
Web: www.belgium
theplaceto.be
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They start from Sablon Church, and you can watch along the route. Three thousand seats in the Grand'Place itself are available by ticket only, bought in advance.
Check the dates from the Belgian Tourist Office for Brussels &Wallonia in London.
In mid-August 2008 the Grand'Place will be covered with a gigantic flower carpet, using ten colours of
700,000 begonias.
This event is held every second year.
Best of all, throughout December the Grand'Place with a few stalls is starting-point for an annual European Christmas market that reaches to the former Fish Market - Place
Sainte Catherine.
Products from all over Europe are on display, while jugglers, musicians and painters
entertain among the stalls that sell crafts, toys, delicacies and wines. Decorations vary,
but typically the city planners may decide to give the event a country look, with lit-up
cows and sheep floating in the air.
The easiest route to Brussels is by Eurostar from London, starting logically enough from
Waterloo. In 2 hours 20 minutes you're rolling into Brussels' Midi Station. Take an
immediate connection to Central Station, and it's only a short stroll to the
Grand'Place.
En route, however, you may get waylaid by the splendid glass covered Galeries St-Hubert,
the first shopping arcade ever built in Europe, dating from 1847. The galleries are split
into three - the King's, the Queen's and the Princes' Gallery - all very stylish and
pricey.
The Grand'Place layout as a marketplace dates from the 12th century. The city's first
ramparts protected the square and the surrounding rabbit-warren of narrow streets.
These little streets formed the food district, and their names still survive into the 21st
century - Butter Street, Pepper Street, Herrings, Meat and Bread, Butchers, Herb Market
Street...
When the city expanded outside its 12th-century walls, a second line of
fortifications arose in the 14th century. By the 18th century, with still further city
expansion, the walls had become a nuisance, and Napoleon had them removed.
The present-day look of the Grand'Place owes thanks to a bombardment of the city ordered
by Louis XIV in 1695. Training their cannon on the Town Hall spire, the French
artillerymen rained 4,000 cannon balls on the city centre.
The square and its surrounding
wooden houses were set ablaze. All that survived was the Town Hall, damaged but not
destroyed.
Out of the ruins a new Grand'Place arose, with the guild houses of the wealthy
trade guilds rebuilt in stone. In four years the job was done, all in Italian Baroque
style, with each guild rivalling its neighbour in lavish decoration. Overlooking
everything is the Town Hall, though the lack of balance led to an accusation that the
architect was drunk when he designed it.
Each side of the square is packed shoulder-to-shoulder with civic buildings. Gold-leaf
decorations sparkle in the sunshine or glow in the evening floodlighting. Every building
has a story.
Like all good Belgian city-centre squares, whenever you're gripped by hunger and thirst,
there are numerous taverns and restaurants within easy reach.
Explore
the very narrow street called La Petite Rue des Bouchers. A former centre of the meat
trade, it's now totally lined with restaurants. Just wander along and inspect the menus in
what's known as 'The Stomach of Brussels'.
Despite the original meat connection, many of the eating places are dedicated to seafood.
Chez Leon, for instance, is Europe's most famous restaurant for mussels, with branches in
other cities including Paris.
During warm weather you can do your Grand'Place sightseeing sitting down with a coffee or
beer at one of the square's outdoor bar terraces. If you can spare the time, remember that
Belgium boasts a selection of 400 different brews. The most popular tourist symbol of
Brussels is the Mannekin-Pis fountain of a nude boy. He has leaked away for centuries, but
still hasn't finished. The Mannekin is reproduced in every imaginable souvenir
style.
There's a custom of dressing him up in national costumes and uniforms during the year,
mainly on special days for various trades and guilds. Six hundred costumes are displayed
in the Museum of Brussels, housed in the Maison du Roi in the Grand'Place. There's even an
Elvis Presley outfit.
Despite its appearance, the Maison du Roi (or the Bread Hall in Flemish) is not medieval.
It was built in late 19th century, on the site of the original Bread Market.
There's a museum of the development of Brussels on the first floor and historical
paintings on the top floor, where the Mannekin-Pis costumes are displayed. If you go
around the corner to the Rue de la Colline, lined with chocolate shops, you can buy
Mannekin-Pis in edible form. Copyright: Reg Butler
Read what else to see in Belgium
BELGIUM - Flanders in a
nutshell
ANTWERP for
Rubens and rocks
BRUGES - fast
track to the Middle Ages
FLANDERS
- Visit Ypres for Flanders Fields
GHENT - A central
base for Belgium's art cities
"Books to read - click on cover pictures" or
click on the links belowBrussels
(Eyewitness Travel Guides) - Everything you need to know during a long or
short stay in the Belgian capital.
"Time
Out" Brussels: Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges - Another rival
guidebook to the four great art cities.
Flemish
Cities Explored: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Mechelen, Leuven and Ostend (Pallas
for Pleasure) by Anthony Blunt - Excellent choice for
anyone who wants to stay longer in Belgium, and explore the highlights in
detail on foot.
The
Rough Guide to Brussels - Good coverage of hotels, bars and restaurants at
all levels, together with all the sightseeing highlights. Also describes day
trips to Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp.
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