The best comic murals in Brussels: a mapped guide
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Where are the best comic murals in Brussels?
The best central murals cluster in the lower town near the Grand-Place: the Tintin wall (Rue de l'Étuve), Broussaille (the first mural, Rue du Marché au Charbon), Le Chat (Boulevard du Midi), and the Smurfs, Lucky Luke and Gaston walls nearby. Group them into a loop of about 2 km and you can see a dozen on foot in an afternoon.
A practical map to the murals
The Brussels comic strip route has 50+ murals, but you won’t see them all — nor should you try. This guide groups the best central walls into a walkable cluster so you can catch a dozen of the finest in an afternoon, without trekking to the suburbs. Pick up the official Comic Book Route map (tourist office or online) to navigate, and use the groupings below to plan your loop.
| Where | Lower town, centred around the Grand-Place and Marché au Charbon |
| Cost | Free — the murals are on public streets, no ticket needed |
| Time needed | Around 2 hours for the central loop; a half-day if you add the east/north walls and the Comics Art Museum |
| Getting there | Walkable from the Grand-Place; the whole central cluster fits inside a 2 km loop |
| Best time | Morning or late afternoon light photographs best; avoid harsh midday sun for photos |
The murals began in 1991 as a city initiative to celebrate Belgian bande dessinée, starting with a single commission on the Rue du Marché au Charbon. They’ve grown steadily since; new ones are added each year. The quality varies — some are extraordinary large-format art, others are more modest — which is why the central core is the right starting point. By a happy coincidence, the best murals are also in the most walkable part of the city.
The central core (near the Grand-Place)
These are the must-sees, all within a roughly 2 km loop of the lower town:
- Tintin — Rue de l’Étuve (by Manneken-Pis). Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock on a fire escape. The icon (Tintin guide). The scale is striking — the figures are several storeys tall, and the ligne claire rendering of Hergé’s characters in full building-height is something genuinely impressive.
- Broussaille — Rue du Marché au Charbon. A strolling couple; the first mural of the route (1991), and a quiet LGBTQ+ landmark in the gay-friendly quarter. Created by Frank Pé, it set the template for the whole programme.
- Le Chat (Geluck) — Boulevard du Midi. The deadpan philosopher cat. Philippe Geluck’s character is perhaps the most beloved of modern Belgian comic figures; the mural captures his particular brand of benign, bemused wisdom.
- Ric Hochet — Rue du Bon Secours. A man climbing through a window. A detective-strip character from the 1950s, less famous outside Belgium but a local institution.
- Olivier Rameau — Rue du Chêne, near Manneken-Pis.
- Néron, Monsieur Jean, Boule et Bill — dotted through Saint-Géry and the Marché au Charbon area.
This cluster pairs perfectly with central sightseeing and a comic museum visit.
A short walk east/north
A little further out, still walkable:
- The Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs) — Rue de l’Étuve / Place du Jardin aux Fleurs area. Peyo’s blue creatures. The Smurfs are arguably Belgium’s most globally recognised comic export after Tintin; the mural gives them appropriate scale.
- Gaston Lagaffe — near the Comics Art Museum (Rue des Sables). Franquin’s eternally useless office boy, surrounded by his various gadgets and disasters. One of the most affectionately rendered murals on the route.
- Lucky Luke and others around the lower town’s northern edge.
Combine these with a visit to the Comics Art Museum on Rue des Sables, the natural hub of the comic district. The museum occupies a former department store that Victor Horta designed — a double reason to visit.
A suggested loop (about 2 hours)
- Start at Manneken-Pis / Tintin mural (Rue de l’Étuve).
- West to Marché au Charbon — Broussaille, and more in Saint-Géry.
- North toward Boulevard du Midi for Le Chat (short detour).
- Up to Rue des Sables and the Comics Art Museum (Gaston nearby).
- Loop back via any walls you missed, ending at the Grand-Place.
A dozen murals, a museum, and a proper wander through the lower town — a great half-day.
Which murals are worth the detour beyond the centre?
If you want to extend beyond the core loop:
- Rue Haute and the lower Marolles area have several murals that reward the walk — the neighbourhood has a different character from the central streets and the contrast is worthwhile.
- Rue Blaes near Place du Jeu de Balle (the flea market square) has a mural that pairs well with a morning market visit.
These are genuinely good murals, but the detour adds time; visit them if you’re making a full day of the comic theme, less so if you’re trying to fit it into an afternoon already full of other sightseeing.
Why the murals matter beyond the tourism
The comic-strip mural project is not just a tourist amenity — it’s an explicit piece of city policy to celebrate the most Belgian of art forms in the most public of spaces. Belgium has produced a disproportionate share of the world’s great comic-strip artists: Hergé (Tintin), Peyo (the Smurfs), Franquin (Gaston, Spirou), Edgar P. Jacobs (Blake and Mortimer), Morris (Lucky Luke) — the list is long and genuinely distinguished. The wall project was partly a response to the controversy around the demolition of Hergé’s own birthplace in the 1990s and a broader failure to protect Brussels’ comic-art heritage.
The city has since corrected course. Beyond the murals, the Comics Art Museum (Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée) on Rue des Sables is the permanent institution — housed in a Horta building with original artwork, exhibitions and archives. But the murals are the city’s outdoor gallery: free, large-format, weatherproof (they’re regularly restored) and spread through the everyday fabric of the streets rather than locked behind admission.
Discovering your own favourites
The listed highlights are reliable, but one of the pleasures of the comic route is discovery — the unexpected mural on a side street you happen down, the character you don’t recognise and have to look up, the image that turns out to be from a strip you read as a child. The route is well-documented online; there are smartphone apps dedicated to it and the tourist office sells a printed map.
Some visitors spend a full day crossing the whole route; most find a focused afternoon on the central cluster more satisfying. If you’re travelling with children, the recognition game — spotting familiar characters before the adult can name the strip — is a genuinely good way to move through the city. A Tintin and street-art walk is the most child-friendly guided option.
Tips for mural-hunting
- Look up and around corners — some are high on gable ends or down side streets.
- Best light is often morning or late afternoon; harsh midday sun can flatten colours.
- Great for kids — turn it into a “spot the character” game (family things to do).
- Go guided for the stories — a comic murals walking tour or a Tintin and street-art walk explains who drew each wall and why, adding a layer the map can’t.
However you do it, the murals are the most charming free thing in Brussels — and once you start spotting them, you won’t stop. Learn the characters’ backstories in Belgian comics explained.
How to read a mural when you find it
A mural is easier to enjoy once you know what to look for. Start with the scale: most of these walls were designed to be seen from a street that is narrower than the building is tall, so the composition often rewards a few steps back and then a few steps closer. Notice how the artist has used the building itself — a fire escape, a window, a gable end or a drainpipe becomes part of the scene. The Tintin wall is the clearest example, because the characters appear to be using the real structure of the building.
Then look at the style. Belgian comics are not one thing. Hergé’s clean, even line sits next to the rounder, more caricatured forms of the Franco-Belgian humour tradition, and next to the softer, more painterly work of the later generation. Walking from one wall to the next is a quick, free lesson in how different these schools are. If a character is new to you, take a photo and look it up later; the Belgian comics explained guide is a good place to start, and the comic strip route overview gives the wider picture.
Building the walk into a bigger day
The central loop is short enough to slot between other things, and the lower town is dense with them. A few combinations work well without feeling rushed:
- With the city’s main square. The loop starts and ends close to the Grand-Place, so it is easy to pair with a look at the square itself (Grand-Place guide). Do the murals first while the streets are quiet, then come back to the square when the light is good.
- With a museum. The Comics Art Museum is the obvious partner; our Comics Art Museum guide explains what to expect inside. If the weather turns, the museum is also the best place to wait it out, and the rainy day itinerary shows how to rearrange the day around it.
- With a full themed day. If comics are the reason you are in Brussels, the comic art day itinerary strings the walls, the museum and the surrounding streets into one plan, so you do not have to work out the order yourself.
- With a short city break. On a first visit with limited time, fit the loop into the plan from Brussels in one day or stretch it across a slower two-day visit.
Whichever you choose, keep the murals as the thread that ties the walk together rather than trying to tick off every sight in the lower town. The best afternoons are the ones with room to stop for a coffee or a waffle between walls.
Practical notes for a smooth walk
Comfortable shoes matter more than anything else; the loop is flat enough but the cobbles in the older streets are uneven, and you will spend a lot of time standing still with your head tilted back. Carry your phone charged, because you will be using the map, the camera and probably a search engine for characters you do not recognise.
Because the murals sit on ordinary streets, treat them as part of the neighbourhood. People live and work behind these walls, so keep noise down, do not block doorways to get a photo, and be patient when a delivery van is parked in front of the best angle; it will usually move. If you are visiting with a group, spread out along the pavement rather than clustering in the road.
Finally, remember that some walls get restored, painted over or replaced over time. If a mural on the map is not where you expected, do not assume you have the wrong street; check the adjacent ones, and take the chance to discover something you had not planned on. For other ideas for spare time in the area, see hidden gems in Brussels and our write-up of the comic murals we found on our own walk.
Photographing the murals well
Because most walls sit on narrow streets, getting a clean shot without cars, bins or passers-by in frame takes a little patience. Early morning (before the city fully wakes up) gives the emptiest streets and the softest light; late afternoon works nearly as well and adds warmer tones. Wide-angle phone lenses help on the narrower streets like Rue de l’Étuve, where you can’t back up far enough to fit the whole mural otherwise. If you’re combining this with a broader photo-focused day, see most Instagrammable spots in Brussels for other locations nearby.
Frequently asked questions — The best comic murals in Brussels: a mapped guide
How do I find the comic murals in Brussels?
Pick up the official Comic Book Route map from the tourist office or download it online, then plan a loop through the central lower town where the murals cluster. Most are within walking distance of the Grand-Place; an app or printed map keeps you on track.Which is the most famous comic mural in Brussels?
The Tintin mural on Rue de l'Étuve, near Manneken-Pis, showing Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock on a fire escape. Broussaille (a strolling couple) on Rue du Marché au Charbon is also notable as the very first mural of the route, painted in 1991.Is the Brussels comic mural walk free?
Yes — the murals are painted on public buildings and streets, so seeing them costs nothing beyond your own time. Only the Comics Art Museum, which pairs well with the walk, requires a paid ticket.How long does it take to see the main comic murals?
Around 2 hours for the central core near the Grand-Place, or a half-day if you extend to the east/north cluster and visit the Comics Art Museum along the way.
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