Comics Art Museum Brussels: a guide to the Belgian Comic Strip Center
Brussels: Brussels Comic Art Museum Entrance Ticket
Is the Comics Art Museum in Brussels worth visiting?
Yes, on two counts — it's a well-curated celebration of Belgian and European comics (Tintin, the Smurfs, the artists and craft behind them), and it's housed in a stunning Victor Horta Art Nouveau building, so you get architecture and comics in one. Allow 1.5–2 hours; it's central and great for families and design lovers alike.
Comics and Horta under one roof
The Comics Art Museum — officially the Belgian Comic Strip Center (Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée / CBBD) — is a double treat. It’s both a serious, joyful museum of the art form Belgium gave the world, and one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau interiors in the city, because it occupies Victor Horta’s former Waucquez textile warehouse (1906). Whether you come for the comics or the architecture, you get both. Here’s how to visit. For the wider trail, see the comic strip route.
The building (worth the ticket alone)
Before the comics, the Horta interior: a luminous central hall under a glass roof, the signature sweeping iron staircase, and the flowing ironwork that made Horta famous. It’s a free-flowing, light-filled space that exemplifies Art Nouveau — and a rare chance to experience a Horta interior beyond the Horta Museum (hidden Art Nouveau gems). Even non-comic-fans leave impressed.
The warehouse was designed for the Waucquez textile company and built between 1903 and 1906. Horta, who designed it in a period when his practice was shifting from private residences to public and commercial buildings, brought the same organic intelligence to a utilitarian brief: maximum natural light via the central glass roof, iron columns set back to open the floor plan, and the now-characteristic flowing metalwork. It was derelict for much of the mid-20th century — Art Nouveau went out of fashion catastrophically — and was rescued for its current purpose in the late 1980s.
Walking in from the street and seeing the full atrium open up overhead remains one of Brussels’ better architectural surprises. The light at noon, when it floods down through the glass roof, makes the ironwork look almost decorative in the way Horta intended.
What’s inside
- The history of the comic strip — how the form developed, the techniques of drawing and storytelling, original plates and sketches.
- The Belgian greats — Hergé’s Tintin, Peyo’s Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Spirou, Gaston Lagaffe and more, with original artwork.
- A reconstructed Tintin rocket and iconic set pieces popular for photos.
- Rotating exhibitions on artists, genres and the modern bande dessinée scene.
- A specialist comics library and shop for fans.
Allow 1.5–2 hours.
The permanent collection takes you from the origins of the comic strip as a narrative form — Rodolphe Töpffer’s 19th-century picture stories are here — through the golden age of Belgian publishing in the mid-20th century, when magazines like Tintin and Spirou turned Brussels into an international hub for the art form. The original plates are the draw: seeing a Hergé page at close range, with all the pencil construction and deliberate precision of the ligne claire style, is an entirely different experience from reading it in print.
The Belgian comic tradition: why it matters
Belgium treats comics as the “ninth art” — a legitimate cultural form on a par with cinema or painting — and this museum reflects that seriousness. The collection doesn’t condescend: it analyses the techniques of storytelling, composition and character design with the same rigour you’d find in a fine art museum. For visitors who grew up knowing Tintin or the Smurfs as childhood books, seeing the originals is genuinely moving. For those encountering Belgian BD for the first time, the museum is a generous and convincing introduction.
The emphasis is on the Franco-Belgian tradition specifically: the bande dessinée that emerged from Brussels and the French-speaking world and differs markedly from the American superhero tradition or Japanese manga. It’s European in its visual restraint, literary in its storytelling ambitions, and political in a tradition that runs from Tintin’s colonial-era adventures (complicated, much discussed) through the biting social satire of later generations.
Full background on the cultural context is in Belgian comics explained.
Practical info
- Central location near the lower town / Rue des Sables, easy to combine with the murals.
- Tickets ~€13 adult, reduced for children/seniors/students; a museum entry ticket can be booked ahead to skip the queue.
- Closed Mondays (check current hours).
- Family-friendly, though some content is aimed at adult comic-art appreciation.
The museum shop deserves a visit even if you don’t do the full exhibition: it’s well stocked with original editions, prints and some beautiful collector pieces. Prices vary widely; the affordable end is good for a Tintin souvenir that has more substance than the airport shop version.
Make it a comic day
The museum is the indoor anchor of a perfect Brussels comic day:
- Morning: hunt the outdoor murals on the comic strip route — free and fun.
- Midday: the Comics Art Museum for the artwork and the Horta building.
- Afternoon: dive deeper into Tintin (guide) or browse a comic shop for a Hergé souvenir.
To add expert context, a comic murals tour or a Tintin and street-art walk pairs beautifully with the museum.
How it fits with the wider Art Nouveau trail
For visitors doing the Art Nouveau walking route, the Comics Art Museum is a slightly different proposition from the Horta Museum: it’s a commercial building rather than a private residence, which means a bigger, more open interior and a less domestic atmosphere. The Horta Museum on Rue Américaine is the essential Art Nouveau interior; the CBBD is a compelling bonus, particularly for anyone who has already seen the private house and wants to experience Horta at a larger scale.
The two combined make a very satisfying design day: Horta Museum in the morning for the intimate residential genius, CBBD in the afternoon for the grand public space. Both are within tram range of each other, and neither demands more than two hours.
Verdict
Worth it. Few museums give you a world-class art form and a UNESCO-calibre building in one modest ticket. Comic fans will love the originals; everyone else will be won over by the Horta interior and the sheer charm of a country that treats cartoonists as national treasures. For the why behind that, read Belgian comics explained.
Frequently asked questions — Comics Art Museum Brussels: a guide to the Belgian Comic Strip Center
How much is the Comics Art Museum and how long do you need?
Tickets are modestly priced (around €13 adult, less for children/concessions); allow 1.5–2 hours. The building itself — Horta's former Waucquez warehouse — is part of the attraction, so factor in time to admire the Art Nouveau interior.Is the Comic Strip Center good for kids?
Yes — children who know the Smurfs or Tintin enjoy it, and it's interactive and colourful, though some exhibits skew to adult comic-art appreciation. It pairs perfectly with the free outdoor comic murals hunt for a family-friendly comic day.
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