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.
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.
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.
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