Supersized and splashed over the building facades of Brussels, Belgian comic book heroes lead us on a storytelling adventure throughout the capital. All you have to do to find them is follow a new trail laid by Belgium’s only Concierge for families.
Comic strips, or bande dessinée, are wildly popular in Belgium. Tantamount to a national hero, you’ll find Tintin and a cast of homegrown cartoon characters indelibly inked in the pages of all official Belgian passports. How’s that for a stamp of approval?
Immersed in the world of Tintin
Visit Hotel Amigo’s Tintin Suite and you’ll be greeted by Snowy, Tintin’s fox terrier, standing guard outside the bedroom.
Staying at the suite is the ultimate immersive Tintin experience, as you’ll be surrounded by the cartoonist Hergé’s wonderfully adventurous illustrations. Can you spot a signed drawing by a legendary film director? Then you’re in the room used by Steven Spielberg during the 2011 release of The Adventures of Tintin.
Near-obsessive Tintin fans won’t want to miss the Hergé Museum, a modern museum half an hour’s drive from our hotel. Study original drawings up close, uncover the history of Hergé and learn all about the artist’s personality.
Favourite comic book characters
Haluk grew up watching cowboy cartoon capers such as the cult 1980’s television series Lucky Luke, which featured in the bestselling Spirou magazine. “In the golden age of Belgian comics in the 1960s, Spirou really caught my young imagination,” says Haluk. “His mural in the Marolles’ district fits in perfectly with the area’s vintage shops and laid-back brasseries.” Of course, no true Belgian comic book fan can leave Tintin et Milou off their list of favourites.
Brussels’ hot spots for comic fans
Comic fans are in the right place as the city has two comic museums. Vying for your attention are The Comic Art Museum – The Belgian Comic Strip Center, a vast exhibition space in an Art Nouveau building and the Museum of Original Figurines (MOOF).
With 3D Spiderman and Snowy in space, this is for you if you prefer a more three-dimensional approach as its impressive collection extends to standing figures, as well as 3D art with comic book heroes seemingly about to burst out of their canvases.
Interested in growing your library? Die-hard collectors can lose themselves among the well-stocked shelves at bookshop La Maison de La Bande Dessinée. It’s the place to go for posters, figurines and comics from Japanese manga and graphic novels to hard-to-find Tintin editions.
On your next visit to Brussels, book the Tintin Suite at Hotel Amigo, or ask our Concierge by email concierge.amigo@roccofortehotels.com or phone +32 2547 4736 for more information.
You may also like
The Spirit of a City, Made by Hand
The soul of a destination – that special something all travellers yearn to glimpse – is really the soul of its people. It is timeless humanity refracted by a place’s unique qualities, by its bounty and scarcity, its landscape and climate.
Look up, Look Closer: The Case for Analogue Adventures
A child with flour-dusted hands, entirely absorbed in the soft tactility of dough, falls quiet in concentration. The same wonder is felt as a small finger points skywards, following the erratic flight of a bumblebee – noticing that the orange pom-poms clinging to its legs are, on closer inspection, minute pockets of pollen. These are the seemingly small moments, observed offline, that are exactly the kind of adventure the best family holidays create. One where each destination invites children and teens to become absorbed in the world around them – not their devices – making, discovering and noticing along the way.
A Creative Retreat in Florence
Florence becomes the most compelling creative retreat when you fall in step with the city’s pace. In Milan you might ‘get your hustle on’ and Rome leans into a meandering walk or Vespa ride, this city, the birthplace of the Renaissance, draws us more towards strolling.