Brussels - Sablon (Zavel)

The museum in the Conservatoire de Musique boasts one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of musical instruments to be found anywhere. More than 125,000 exhibits gathered from over the centuries, and all over the world, testify to mankind's love affair with music.

There are over 1,200 instruments on display at any given time.

Southeast of the Place Petit Sablon stands the Palais d'Egmont (Palais Arenberg), now used for state receptions.

Below the Eglise du Sablon, the Place du Grand Sablon (Grote Zavel) slopes down to the Lower Town. The area is dotted with antique shops and antiquarian bookshops. Brussels' best-known flea market is held on the square itself every Saturday.

In the Place du Petit Sablon (Little Sand), a block or two along the Rue de la Régence from the Place Royale, the small garden is surrounded by an unusual railing with 48 small columns, each topped by a statuette representing one of the Brussels guilds. Statues of Counts Egmont and Hoorn and some of the humanist scholars adorn the center of the Place.