Square du Petit Sablon

The garden is neo-Renaissance, laid out in the 1890s, and small enough to cross in two minutes. Around the railing stand forty-eight bronze statuettes, one for each of the old Brussels trades, each holding the tool of its craft. They are worth a slow circuit before you sit down.

At the top of the garden, the monument to the counts of Egmont and Hoorn rises above a fountain that falls into a stone basin. Benches face it. Sitting there and watching the water is the point of the place, and it is the quietest thing to do within five minutes of the Sablon.

The lawns are edged with low box hedging and are not for walking on. A warden patrols the garden and will tell you so, politely and in French, if you try it. Stay on the gravel and the benches.

The church of Notre-Dame du Sablon stands directly across the Rue de la Régence, and the antiques market on the Grand Sablon is a minute further on.

Entry is free and the garden opens every day of the year, but the closing time moves with the season, and in winter it catches people out: in December the gates shut before dark. Last entry is a quarter of an hour before closing.

Hours are those published by gardens.brussels and are worth checking there before a late visit.