The Crab with the Golden Claws remains my favourite Tintin adventure, probably because it was the first Tintin comic I read, and the Tintin adventure where Captain Haddock makes his debut. I took a trip down memory lane as I walked through the streets of Brussels to explore the city through the eyes of a Tintin fan.
Tintin figures high on the list of Belgium exports that also includes some of the world’s finest chocolates. However, it wasn’t Tintin that brought me to Belgium, but another of the country’s biggest exports — beer. I might have been on a tour to explore some of the country’s most famous breweries, but an imposing Tintin mural caused a sudden change of plan — an adventure that Tintin might approve of.
Tintin turns 94
The Musée Hergé put up this artwork to celebrate Tintin’s birth anniversary with a note, ‘On 10 January 1929, a young reporter boarded a train from Brussels to Moscow accompanied by his dog, Snowy. It was the start of Tintin's first great adventure…’ Image courtesy Hergé / Tintinimaginatio - 2023
Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi (who wrote under the pen name Hergé) created Tintin and the characters first appeared in Belgian weekly Le Petit Vingtième on January 10, 1929. It went on to become one of the most successful European comics in the 20th century, eventually getting published in over 100 languages.
Closer home, legend has it that Satyajit Ray had suggested that the Tintin comics be translated into Bengali. It was Nirendranath Chakravarty who translated the series into Bengali in the first Anandamela. That’s one reason why Ray and Chakravarty are immortalised on the walls of the Tintin & The Brussels Club, a Tintin-themed cafe that reopened at a new South Kolkata location in 2022.
Brussels’ famous mural
The famous Tintin mural on Rue de l'Etuve depicts a scene from ‘The Calculus Affair’ Unsplash
The mural — on Rue de l'Etuve — that sparked my trail is inspired from The Calculus Affair and depicts Captain Haddock, Snowy and Tintin running down a stairway. It isn’t the only public artwork or mural of Tintin in the city.
There are two large artworks at the Gare du Midi station. The first, a black-and-white scene from Tintin in America was put up on the centenary of Herge’s birth, in 2007. The second is a more colourful scene featuring Tintin and Snowy and in a scene from The Seven Crystal Balls.
The black-and-white artwork at Gare du Midi station was put up on the birth centenary of Hergé Image courtesy Visit Brussels
One of my fellow travellers from Europe enviously remarked how Tintin might have been hard at work as an investigative journalist but hardly ever turned in a story. Most ‘Tintinites’ (not in the same hallowed league of Tintinologists) make the trek to the Brussels suburb of Louvain-la-Neuve. It’s where Musée Hergé (The Hergé Museum) is located.
Walk into a Tintin comic
The Hergé Museum is a must-visit for all things Tintin Image courtesy Visit Brussels
You’ll need to reserve half a day, especially if you take the bus or train, for a visit to The Hergé Museum. Spread out over multiple floors, this is easily the most comprehensive collection of Tintin-related art and artefacts in the world. Walking into the museum is almost like walking into a Tintin comic with painstakingly curated exhibits, original art that takes you through the exotic locales of Tintin’s global adventures.
Just like most museums, you wind up in a huge gift shop, although that’s not the only spot in Brussels for Tintin memorabilia. I’d suggest a stop at La Boutique Tintin that’s a short walk from the Grand Palace and close to the Tintin mural at Rue de l'Étuve. There’s also Tintin & Toys that’s at the Brussels airport where I picked up my favourite Tintin tee.
The Secret of the Unicorn
The flea market at Marolles is the setting for the beginning of 2011 movie ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ Flickr
Hergé and Steven Spielberg’s mutual admiration was the genesis for The Adventures of Tintin, the 2011 film with unique motion capture technology. That adventure begins when Tintin acquires an antique ship at a flea market. You can relive that moment at the flea market on the square near Vossenstraat at Marolles, where over 500 stalls sell an eclectic mix of antiques and souvenirs.
The Royal Palace
The palace of the king in ‘King Ottokar’s Sceptre’ is inspired by the Royal Palace in Brussels Flickr
Hergé's works have sparked a lot of discussion and controversy particularly in the 21st century. Tintin in the Congo was withdrawn from many countries for its racial overtones. Hergé has also been criticised for his monarchist leanings.
Some of Tintin’s adventures were set in the fictional Balkan nation of Syldavia (that Hergé admitted was modelled after Albania). The Royal Palace in Brussels that’s almost two centuries old inspired Hergé's sketches of the Royal Palace of Muskar XII the King of Syldavia in King Ottokar’s Sceptre. You will also find landscapes that will remind you of the book in the Park of Brussels.
The Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie inspired the sketches of the opera in ‘The Seven Crystal Balls’ Wikimedia Commons
That’s the thing with Brussels, it’s easy to walk past landmarks like the Metropole Hotel or the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and not make the connection if you’re not a Tintinite. But if you’re like me, there’s a Tintin adventure waiting in the most unexpected corners in Brussels, all you have to do is make your own trail.
