Dec-2014
Street Art Spotting in Brussels
With more comic strip artists per square mile (yes, someone, somewhere has counted this), it’s fair to say Brussels is a little comic book mad. Tin Tin and the Smurfs were created here – amongst many others – and the city even boasts its own comic museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Centre. It’s the comic book capital of the world. And this is no more evident than on the very streets of the city.
Now, Brussels is already a fantastic city to just simply wander through. Packed full of great bars, restaurants, chocolate shops and boutiques I’ve spent many a weekend here doing not very much at all other than strolling around, hopping in and out of places for beer and food and just generally soaking up the great vibe the city has.
But what really adds to the wandering experience is the Brussels street art – the place is filled with fun, colourful cartoons that adorn the sides of buildings and pop out at you around what feels like every other corner.
In fact, there’s actually a specific Comic Strip Trail around the city for those who want to tick off all the cartoon murals on display. But with nearly 50 dotted about the city centre, you’re bound to spot a few of them whether you’re specifically looking for them or not.
Without deliberately seeking them out, I certainly saw plenty on my last visit in November. And below are just a few of the ones I spotted…
…seven down, just the 43 left to find, then.