The entire itinerary of 30 murals covers a lot of ground in central Brussels. This group, most from the early years of the project, makes a pleasant two-hour stroll around the heart of the city.
From the Metro stop at Bourse, walk one block up rue J. Van Praat to Place St-Géry, a former market turned exhibition center. Inside the market, face the reception desk and go out the right-hand door. On a wall to the left is (1) Néron by Marc Sleen.
Walk away from the mural and turn right on rue Van Artevelde. At the first big street, make a hairpin left onto rue des Chartreux. In less than a block, (2) L’Archange by Yslaire will be watching over you. You will also note a bronze statue of a dog next to a fire hydrant. This is a recent parody of Manneken Pis.
Walk through the flower market square along rue des Fabriques to the next big cross street, rue de la Senne. Covering a whole corner in front of you are fantastical zoo animals and a dreaming boy, (3) The Dreams of Nic by Hermann. Turn around (or look over your shoulder), and you’ll see the tall-ship-era scene of (4) Bob de Moor’s Cori Le Moussaillon.
Turn left on Senne, then make your second left onto rue T’Kint. In one block you’ll encounter a grand scene of (5) Lucky Luke by Morris at the corner of rue de la Buanderie. Note that Luke is pointing his pistol at the bank robbers but his shadow is not.
Continue down rue de la Buanderie, turn right on rue Van Artevelde, then left onto rue de la Verdure. Just before you reach Place Anneessens, you’ll see (6) Willy Maltaite’s alluring Isabelle and Calendula, sitting by a river as fantasy figures dismantle the brick wall.
Turn left onto boulevard Maurice Lemonnier, a great street for comic shops and used bookstores, and now a lot of places that sell video games. Continue through Place Fontainas, where the street becomes boulevard Anspach. Stop to peruse the books at Brusel, a comprehensive bookshop and gallery of comics art. Then turn right onto rue de Bon Secours, where you’ll immediately spot (7) Tibet’s detective Ric Hochet in one of his trademark derring-do exploits.
Make a left into rue de Marchéau Charbon. When you reach the corner, turn around and over your shoulder you’ll see (8) Francis Carin’s dashing spy Victor Sackville leading a woman across the street.
Across the square, which is ground zero for Brussels gay night life, (9) Frank Pe’s Broussaille depicts an androgynous couple strolling arm in arm. Turn right onto rue Midi and watch for a vertical sliver of a wall to catch the ominous world of (10) Le Passage by François Schuiten.
At this point it’s time to return to sweetness and light. At rue de Grandes Carmes, turn left and keep walking a half block past Manneken Pis. Turn around to see a couple touch with an explosion of light in (11) Dany’s Olivier Rameau.
DAVID LYON