Brussels Comic Book Walls: The Complete Guide

The Brussels comic book walls are one of the most unique things I’ve ever seen in a city. Of course I’ve seen graffiti before, even ones commissioned by the city. But, the Brussels comic book walls are so much more than street art.

There are over 50 comic book walls commissioned by the city, and it makes a great way to explore Brussels trying to find each one.

If you’re looking for things to do in Brussels, there’s nothing better than going on the Brussels comic strip walk. You can walk from mural to mural exploring the different neighbourhoods. Here are the top Brussels comic book walls to see and why!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Why Go On The Brussels Comic Strip Walk

If you’re visiting Brussels, the Brussels comic strip walk is a must do. First, it’s a great way to discover hidden places and new areas of the city that you wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

But, the Brussels comic book walls are also such large masterpieces of art in the middle of an urban landscape. Each mural tells a story that takes you out of where you are. It’s like a snapshot taken right in the heart of the action, freezing all the characters in time forever.

It allows your imagination to run wild! Wondering how they ended up in these situations and how it’s going to end. While some are snapshots, others let you enter into their magical world. 

Each one is so unique and different that they’re all worth scouting out!

Understanding Comic Books & Brussels: Three Waves

Comic books have been rooted in Belgian culture for decades, ever since the 1920s. Many people don’t realize that comic books and Belgium (especially Brussels) go hand in hand.

The Belgian comic book phenomenon can be categorized into three distinct generations. The first brought comics to an older audience, and it all started with The Adventures of Tintin in 1929 followed by Spirou in 1938.

World War II marks the end of the first generation with a shift in style. The second generation of Belgian comics was during the 1950s and includes Lucky Luke (1946), The Smurfs (1959), and Asterix and Obelix (1959).

The third wave of comics started in the 1970s where we start to see stronger female leads like Yoko Tsuno (1970). Another prominent comic from this wave is Thorgal (1977) which featured darker themes than consumers were used to.

How Did The Comic Book Walls Start?

The comic book walls all started with Broussaille Walk in 1991 at Rue du Marché au Charbon 41. It’s from the Broussaille comic by Frank Pé.

It was first commissioned by the city in collaboration with the Brussels Comic Strip Museum (more on that later!). As it turns out, the people LOVED it and asked the city to commission more.

But I heard a different story….

It’s rumoured that the city started this initiative as a way to combat the unwanted graffiti. It worked as well as they could have hoped. There’s still graffiti all around, but much less. Unfortunately, sometimes people even graffiti the comic book murals. Don’t worry though, the city has thought of everything…

They safeguarded these works of art by spraying a special wash on it. So when someone does deface the mural they can easily wash it off and make it look brand new all over again!

That doesn’t mean there still isn’t beautiful Brussels street art to see.

Going On The Brussels Comic Book Walk

One of the best ways to see the Brussels comic strip walls, and to tour the city, is to go on a comic book walk.

Walking through the city, you’ll never get tired of stumbling upon these works of art! It’s always a nice added surprise if there’s one when you turn a corner!

But you don’t have to walk aimlessly hoping you’ll eventually see one. You can follow a map that will show you where to find them all – although, it might prove to be harder than it sounds.

Not only are the streets not exactly arranged in a straight line in Brussels, but the murals aren’t always in front of you. Sometimes you have to look up, behind you, even around the corner. They can be quite hidden at times!

Following The Murals…

They’ve made it relatively easy to go on a comic book walk in Brussels, or so they thought. Every time you find a comic book wall there’s always a plaque below it.

The plaque has very important information. It always has a map that’ll show you the location of all the other comic book walls in the area. It also gives you some information about the mural, like what comic book it’s pulled from and who painted it.

They pride themselves in these handy maps, but every time we tried to follow one we would inevitably get lost… I wouldn’t have even tried, given my history with reading maps. But my partner is typically pretty good with these things and even he couldn’t follow it. And as I said, the streets in Brussels aren’t exactly straight…

Also, once you leave the map you have nothing with you for reference. If you do decide to follow the plaques, at least take a picture of it before you leave!

Things To Do In Brussels: Follow A Map Of Brussels Comic Books Walls

Make your life a little bit easier and follow a real map. You have two options:

I’ve saved all the easy to reach comic book walls that I found while living in Brussels into Google maps. Your best bet is to download the map offline on Google so you can view it anytime you want! You can use ours of all the murals we found, download it here.

You can also create your own map on Google of the murals you want to see. Search for Mur BD and a bunch should pop up (BD stands for bande-dessinée, comic strip in French).

They don’t all show up on Google, so you can also buy a map from the VisitBrussel’s information desk. It costs about €2.50.

Main Brussels Comic Strip Walls You Have To See

If you don’t have too much time in the city, there are a few Brussels comic book walls that you’ll definitely want to see in the city centre.

These come from the main Belgian comic book franchises or comics that are prominent in Belgian history like Tintin, Smurfs, Spirou, and Lucky Luke (pictured below).

1. The Adventures of Tintin

Obviously, you have to see the Tintin mural, this was the comic book that started it all! If you go on any walking tour around the city, they’ll be sure to show you this one. It’s also right around the corner from the Mannequin Pis (which isn’t the original one by the way… find out more about that in my hidden gems of Brussels!).

Where to find The Adventures of Tintin mural: 
Rue de l’Etuve 37, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Why Is Tintin So Important?

Hergé brought comic books to the mainstream in Belgium with his character Tintin when he published his first comic in 1929. Tintin was so groundbreaking because it was the first comic meant for an older audience. It wasn’t written for children at all, but for teens and even adults.

The series follows Tintin as he explores the world as a journalist, and runs into trouble along the way. It was humorous and made political and cultural comments on the world.

2. Make Sure Not To Miss The Smurfs (P.S. Look Up!)

The Smurfs are so popularized that many people don’t even realize they’re even from Belgium. I sure as hell didn’t!

I love the Smurfs mural because it’s hidden in plain sight. I probably walked by it 10 times before someone had to point it out to me.

Across Brussel Central (the main train station in Brussels), there’s an underpass where you find the most hidden of the Brussels comic book walls. If you look up when you’re underneath, you’ll enter the secret world of the Smurfs working away at building their village. It’s almost a shame that you have to look up to admire it because your neck starts to hurt after a while and there’s so much going on!

Fun fact! Did you know the Smurfs were actually side characters in Peyo’s original comic story? Everyone fell in love with these little blue characters so he gave them their own comic strip.

P.S. This is also where we found our favourite waffle truck in Brussels. It’s a dark orange waffle truck with Giovani on it (yep, he’s an Italian making Belgian waffles!). He might not always be there, but if he is, make sure he just made them fresh. Then they’ll melt in your mouth.

Where to find the Smurfs Brussels street art mural:
Infante Isabellastraat, 1000 Brussel, Belgium

3. Spirou

Spirou is one of the largest comic franchises in Belgium. It’s a comic series, but now it’s also a publishing house publishing other comics under the name Spirou.

You definitely wont want to miss seeing this Brussek street art.

Where to find Spirou mural:
Rue Notre Dame De Gráces 3, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

4. Visit The First Comic Book Wall Every Made

As I said, Broussaille Walk was the first Brussels comic book wall to be painted in 1991. But, if you look a bit closer you might notice a few easter eggs hidden in this 360 foot painted wall.

The main characters are actually walking above the street you’re standing on. Notice, it’s the same café, street name and numbers!

When visiting Broussaille Walk, look behind you to see the Victor Sackville comic book wall. It’s also taking place on the same street, but in the 1940s during WWII.

Where to find Broussaille Walk Brussels street art:
Rue du Marché au Charbon 41, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Where to find Victor Sackville:
Rue du Marché au Charbon Kolenmarkt 60, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

5. The First Flemish-Belgian Comic Mural

You may not know that Brussels is a trilingual country: they speak French, Flemish, and German.

The comic book genre started in French and all the popular comics up to this point have come from the French side. They’re known as Franco-Belgian comics. But, being the small country that it is, the comic book sensation spread to the Flemish side as well.

So an important stop on the Brussels comic book walk is to see some Flemish-Belgian murals. The Adventures of Nero was the first Flemish comic strip to have its own mural.

But, one of the largest Flemish-Belgian comic series is Suske and Wiske (Willy & Wanday in English and Bob and Bobette in French) also has their own. That one is a bit further outside the city centre though.

Where to find The Adventrues of Nero mural:
Place Saint-Géry 20, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

Where to find Suske and Wiske comic book wall:
Rue de Laeken 116, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

6. Visit The 2 Largest Brussels Comic Book Walls

These Brussels comic book walls are a bit further out of the way, and one is behind a gate, but their grandiose size is worth the trek to. Plus, these are two of the largest comics from the second wave: Astérix and Obélix and Lucky Luke.

They’re hard to get a picture of they’re so big!

Where to find the Astérix and Obélix comic book wall in Brussels:
Rue de la Buanderie 33, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

Where to find the Lucky Luke comic book wall in Brussels:
Rue de la Buanderie 45, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

7. The Belgian Comic Book With The First Strong Female Lead – Yoko Tsuno

Yoko Tsuno was one of the first strong female leads in a Belgian comic series. She wasn’t even initially the main character when the series first started. It was only after a survey was conducted, in the 1970’s, that she got her own book.

Her first comic debuted in the 1970s. Yoko Tsuno broke down all the tropes conventional to female characters of the time. Not only was she the main character, but she was a smart woman too. She was an electrical engineer who was also well travelled. Her adventures would take place in Scotland, Belgium, Japan, even outer space…etc.

Where to find Yoko Tsuno Brussels street art
Rue Terre-Neuve 25, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Honourable Mention Comic Book Walls In Brussels To See

There are a lot more Brussels comic book walls that are worth checking out. These are just some of my favourite comic book walls, or ones you might want to check out.

XIII Mural is one of the more realistic comic book walls. It reminds me of New York City in Brussels. This one seems to be a target for graffiti though. You can see it on Rue Philippe de Champagne 29-31, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Ric Hochet is another favourite because the mural so easily comes to alive; someone could  actually be scaling that wall, and there could be a window and door there. You can find it on Rue de Bon Secours 9, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Around the corner from the Mannequin Pis is one worth seeing because it isn’t too much out of the way. The Olivier Rameau mural brings you into their magical world. Find it on Rue du Chêne 9, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

I also mentioned the comic series Thorgal as part of the new wave. There is a mural for that series at Place Anneessens, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.

See the full list of Brussels Comic Book Walls.

More Comic Books & Brussels

Brussels Comic Book Museum

Brussels is the land of museums, so of course they would have one all about comic books! You can learn about the process that goes into making one, see one of the first comics ever created, and learn all about Tintin and the Smurfs!

The museum is a bit outside the city centre, but still within walking distance. It’s a must-visit in my opinion. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Hergé there’s a museum dedicated to him, but it isn’t in Brussels. It’s all the way in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Might be worth a day trip though!?

Brussels Comic Strip Festival

If you really want to delve into Belgian culture, visit Brussels in September. That’s when they host a week and a half long comic strip festival where they take over Brussel Park. I did say that it was a huge part of their culture even today. So, Brussels hosting an annual comic book festival shouldn’t surprise you.

They set up several tents where you can find any comic imaginable. They invite the most prominent people in the industry to speak, host different events throughout the week, and on the last day have a balloon parade. I didn’t even get to the best part yet… it’s all FREE!

You might have to pay for some events but for the most part it’s free. See the schedule and when the Brussels Comic Strip Festival is happening this year. 

The Balloon Parade is insane! They blow up massive comic character balloons and parade them throughout the city. They have a marching band and different performers.

We also went on a completely free Brussels comic strip walk tour around the city. That’s where we learned everything about the Brussels comic book walls. I really wish they had this tour more often. It’s a great way to see the city and learn about these beautiful outdoor art pieces.

P.S. Brussels also hosts the Belgian Beer Weekend in September, (another key component to Belgium). Read more about beer and Belgium.

Need A Place To Stay In Brussels? Hotel Recommendations

I stayed in an Airbnb while in Brussels Belgium, but here are some hotels I found in the city stay at.

For a luxury 5-star hotel experience in the heart of Brussels, stay at Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo. You are one block away from Brussels Grand Place – you can’t get a better location than that! See room rates and availability on Booking.com.

If you’re looking for a bed and breakfast in Brussels stay at Art de Séjour B&B. You’ll get a delicious homemade breakfast included with your stay. See room rates and availability on Booking.com.

Bringing the family to Brussels or need a space for all your friends? Check out Spacious modern appartments in Brussels city centre. You can get an apartment for up to 6 adults! See room rates and availability on Booking.com.

See more accommodation options in Brussels, on Booking.com.

Read Popular Belgian Comics Before Your Comic Book Walk

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