Vossenplein (Place du Jeu de Balle)

What Vossenplein is

Vossenplein—known in French as Place du Jeu de Balle—is a cobbled square in the lower Marolles. Every morning it becomes Brussels’ Old Market: a daily flea market of used goods rather than a formal antiques fair. Expect furniture, clothing, household objects, photographs, records, tools and unclassifiable bric-a-brac.

The square sits beside Blaesstraat, with Hoogstraat a short walk west. Cafés occupy its edges, while mature plane trees trace the rectangular outline. The market is the reason to come, but the surrounding streets extend the hunt with antique dealers, vintage shops and second-hand specialists.

Browse the market

More than 300 pitches can operate here, with stock ranging from loose boxes of inexpensive objects to selected vintage pieces. This is a place to inspect rather than assume: check condition, completeness and dimensions before agreeing a price.

Useful approach

• Walk the full square once before buying a large item.
• Ask the seller directly about price; haggling is part of the market’s working method.
• Keep purchases manageable: the lanes and surrounding pavements are busy during market hours.
• The market sells objects, not food; use the cafés and restaurants around the square for a break.

Read the square

The French name recalls the ball games once played on the open ground. The Dutch name preserves an earlier industrial use: the Société du Renard locomotive and machinery factory occupied the site from 1837. The city bought it in 1853, demolished it in 1858 and completed the square’s layout in 1863.

Look beyond the stalls. The former fire station dominates one side; it was built in 1859–60 and later converted for new uses. On the opposite axis stands the neo-Romanesque Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Narrow 19th-century houses complete the uneven but distinctive perimeter.

Hours and access

The flea market runs daily. Official selling hours are 09:00–14:00 Monday to Friday and 09:00–15:00 at weekends. Entry is free and no ticket is required.

Public transport: buses 48 and 52 stop at Vossenplein. Trams 3, 4, 51 and 82 stop at Lemonnier. For metro access, use Hallepoort/Porte de Hal on lines 2 and 6, then walk into the Marolles.

Fit it into the Marolles

Start at Vossenplein in the morning, then continue along Blaesstraat and Hoogstraat for shops with more curated stock than the market. The square is compact, but its cobbles, packed stalls and uneven surfaces can make movement slower than the map suggests.