Comic book route in Brussels

In Brussels, comics don't stay in the bookshops: they spill out onto the streets and cover the facades. This comic book route takes you past the murals the city has dedicated to the ninth art, bande dessinée, and to the corners that inspired Hergé.

The route starts on the Rue du Marché au Charbon, with a stop at a specialist shop to step into the world of Belgian comics. Then you'll go from mural to mural, finding out who signed them, how their authors are connected and what the famous “clear line” of Franco-Belgian comics is, and you'll learn which was the first mural dedicated to comics in the city.

You'll stop in front of the house that was Hergé's inspiration for Tintin's home, and in Les Marolles, the most working-class neighbourhood in Brussels, you'll see murals of other characters by Hergé and by Peyo, the creator of the Smurfs. The route ends in the Place du Jeu de Balle, the square where Tintin begins one of his great adventures, the one Spielberg brought to the big screen.