Comic Art Museum (Belgian Comic Strip Center)

Comics are taken seriously in Belgium, and this museum, long known as the Belgian Comic Strip Center and now also as the Comic Art Museum, is the place to understand why. It opened on 6 October 1989 in the presence of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, inside a building that is a landmark in its own right: the former Magasins Waucquez, a textile store designed by Victor Horta in 1905 and completed the following year. The Art Nouveau building alone justifies a visit.

The permanent exhibition, called the Museum of Imagination, traces the golden age of Belgian comics between 1929 and 1958. It begins with Hergé and The Adventures of Tintin and ends with Peyo, the creator of the Smurfs, and gives particular attention to the two magazines, Spirou and Tintin, that launched so many famous series. Temporary exhibitions bring in other artists, periods and styles, so repeat visits are often rewarded. Seeing these characters in the context of the magazines that published them helps explain why Brussels became such an important centre for the comic strip in the decades after the Second World War.

The museum suits families with children of school age, comic fans of any age and anyone curious about Belgian popular culture. Adults who grew up with Tintin or the Smurfs will find plenty of nostalgia. The ground floor has a reading room and study library, a comics shop called Slumberland and a restaurant, so it is easy to spend a relaxed half day here. The building is listed as wheelchair accessible with an adapted toilet, and assistance dogs are welcome.

Brussels Museums lists the museum as open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closed on Mondays, 1 January and 25 December, with early closing on Christmas Eve. Allow around two hours. The Brussels Card and the Art Nouveau Pass are accepted, which helps if you are visiting several museums.

The museum is on Rue des Sables, a quiet side street a few minutes' walk from the Cathedral. Afterwards, follow the city's Comic Book Route, a trail of large murals of comic characters painted on walls around the centre, or walk down to the Grand-Place, about fifteen minutes away.