Grand Sablon Antiques Market, Brussels

Another day in Brussels, another antiques market!  This time Grand Sablon which is in fact not at all grand and is actually quite small. I think actually the area is called Grand Sablon and doesn’t refer to the market itself. Easy mistake to make!

This is a weekend only market which supposedly starts at 9 am but we got there at 9 and very few stalls were open so don’t bother to rush to get there like we did!  Saturdays it is open until 5 pm and Sundays until 2 pm.

We didn’t ask prices because there was nothing that we wanted but it all looked more upmarket than Place du Jeu de Balle so expect higher prices.There were some posh antique shops nearby like this one selling posh old china and this one selling posh old bags.

Don’t expect to be at this market very long because there wasn’t a lot here – maybe 20 stalls.  I wish I had decided to go to the big vintage market at Waterloo or the huge one at Tongeren, also both on a Sunday morning, but as we were fitting in Bruge on this day as well it was impossible to do it all.  If I went back again, that’s where I would head next time as we were definitely disappointed with this one.

 

Place du Jeu de Balle Antiques and Vintage Market, Brussels

I had high expectations for the vintage and flea markets in Brussels but unfortunately I was a little disapointed – I didn’t feel like I had got my vintage fix! Starting with Place du Jeu de Balle in the Marolles District, this was smaller than I expected in a cobblestone square in a rather shabby area of Brussels.  The market is open Monday to Friday 6 am to 2 pm and Saturday and Sunday 6 am to 3 pm.  From my research I found out that the best/busiest days are Thursday and Friday and that there might be rarer pieces at the weekends.

    

I went both on a Friday and a Monday and although there were more stalls on the Friday, I actually found more that interested me on the Monday (fabric!)

Prices started fairly high but I managed to haggle them down to what I wanted to pay. I was told a couple of times “No photos” after I had already taken them! Too late (spoilsports!)

You really have to watch were you walk in this market not only because of the cobblestones but because there was broken china and glass on the floor. When you work for a personal injury lawyer it makes you really wary of where nasty accidents can happen and thereafter potential lawsuits!

The market was very close to Rue Haute  which had some amazing antique shops but I will blog about that separately!

A couple of the things I bought:

A pretty flamenco dancer postcard for my collection; and

This picture in a lovely frame, possibly of the Virgin Mary, a well known image which seemed familiar to me.