Comic strip trail
Multiple locations in Brussels city centre and Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Brussels treats comic art as part of the streetscape, and the Comic Strip Trail is the clearest way to experience that identity in situ rather than behind glass. Visit Brussels states that the trail has been growing since 1991 and now includes more than 80 murals across the capital. The official tourism page presents it as a self-guided walk where you can encounter characters such as Tintin, Astérix, Blake and Mortimer, Lucky Luke and others on walls woven into everyday streets. That makes this less a single-stop attraction than a city-wide cultural route shaped by public space, architecture and neighbourhood context. For visitors, the appeal is its flexibility. You can follow only a central section near major sights, or build a longer walk that links murals in other parts of the City of Brussels, including Laeken. The experience is free and outdoors, so it works well as a lightweight addition between museums, markets and cafés. Official tourism guidance also notes that some older murals have been recontextualised through QR-code interpretation, reflecting a more contemporary reading of the route. Ranked highly here, it earns its place because it is distinctly Brussels, easy to access without advance booking, and unusually good at turning an ordinary walk into a cultural activity with strong local character.