The Place de la Bourse was laid out following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), as part of the major urban works by the architect Léon Suys under the tenure of the then-mayor of the City of Brussels, Jules Anspach.

Since 29 June 2015, it has been pedestrianised, as part of a large pedestrian zone in central Brussels (French: Le Piétonnier).

[13][14] On the south-eastern side of the Place de la Bourse, the Brussels Stock Exchange building occupies the site of the former Butter Market (French: Marché au Beurre, Dutch: Botermarkt), itself built over the remains of the 13th-century Recollets Franciscan convent.

[2][15][16] The eclectic building mixes borrowings from the neo-Renaissance and Second Empire styles in a profusion of ornaments and sculptures by renowned artists including Auguste Rodin.

[20] On the northern side, at the corner with the Rue Paul Devaux/Paul Devauxstraat, the square has been distorted since the replacement of the Grands Magasins de la Bourse, following their destruction by fire in 1948,[20] with an imposing building of shops and offices.