Grand Place by night , Brussels

 

The Grand Place or Grote Markt  is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 360 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Grand Place continued to serve as a market until November 19, 1959, and it is still called the Great Market or Grote Markt in Dutch. Neighbouring streets still reflect the area's origins, named after the sellers of butter, cheese, herring, coal and so on. The Grand Place was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1998. One of the houses was owned by the brewers' guild, and is now the home of a brewers' museum.
The Grand Place was voted the most beautiful square in Europe in 2010. A survey by a Dutch website (stedentripper.com) asked its users to rate different squares across Europe. Moscow’s Red Square and the Place Stanislas in Nancy, France, took second and third place.