Brussels Walking Tours: Art Nouveau, Comic Murals and the Grand-Place
Brussels is a working capital rather than a preserved one, and it is more interesting for it. The Grand-Place is among the finest squares in Europe, but the city's character shows up elsewhere — in Art Nouveau townhouses, comic murals painted across gable ends, and districts where the European quarter meets Congolese and Moroccan Brussels.
Why Visit Brussels
- The Grand-Place, a UNESCO site and one of the most complete Baroque squares anywhere
- Victor Horta's Art Nouveau houses, four of them inscribed as World Heritage
- A comic-strip tradition — Tintin, the Smurfs — with a dedicated museum and painted walls across the centre
- Belgian beer culture, itself on UNESCO's intangible heritage list
- Museums well beyond the city's size, from the Magritte to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts
Best Walking Areas in Brussels
Grand-Place & Îlot Sacré
The central square and the narrow restaurant lanes packed in around it
Sablon & Marolles
Antique dealers, the flea market on Place du Jeu de Balle, and the enormous Palace of Justice
Saint-Gilles & Ixelles
The Art Nouveau heartland: Horta's own house, and whole streets built in the style
Mont des Arts & Royal Quarter
Museums, formal gardens, and the view back down over the lower town
European Quarter & Parc Léopold
Glass institutions, and a park that most visitors never reach
Top Attractions in Brussels
- Grand-Place
- Manneken Pis
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts
- Magritte Museum
- Horta Museum
- Belgian Comic Strip Center
- Mont des Arts
- Atomium
- Cinquantenaire Park
- Place du Jeu de Balle flea market
Local Tips for Brussels
- The Manneken Pis is far smaller than photographs suggest — the lanes around it are the better reason to go
- Restaurants on the Rue des Bouchers employ touts; the food is better one street away
- Brussels is bilingual and street signs carry both French and Dutch names for the same place
- The city maps its comic murals, which makes a good self-guided route on its own
- Sunday morning is when the Place du Jeu de Balle flea market is at its fullest
Best Time to Visit Brussels
May, June and September bring the best weather. Brussels rains readily all year, so the museums and covered galleries are useful insurance. December fills the lower town with markets and lights.
Walking Tour Highlights
Brussels rewards themed routes more than one grand circuit: an Art Nouveau walk through Saint-Gilles and Ixelles, a comic-mural trail across the centre, a Grand-Place and Sablon route through the old town, and a beer walk between the historic cafés and brown bars. Ninety minutes to three hours each.