Manneken Pis and Brussels: Managing the Visit

The Manneken Pis has over 1,000 documented costumes and is dressed according to a calendar maintained by the City of Brussels. Since the early 20th century, visiting foreign dignitaries and organisations have donated outfits; there are versions representing Elvis, the EU presidency, the Belgian national football team in their 1986 World Cup kit, and approximately 60 national folkloric costumes. The costume-dressing ceremonies happen at the fountain with a small crowd; the schedule is published at mannekenpis.brussels. The collection is displayed at the GardeRobe MannekenPis museum nearby (entry around €6), which is a more interesting visit than the statue itself.

The Manneken Pis is a bronze statue 61 centimetres tall at the corner of Rue de l’Étuve and Rue du Chêne. It has been a landmark since at least 1619. It has been a landmark since at least the 17th century; the current version was cast by Jérôme Duquesnoy in 1619. The original is in the Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles at the Grand Place; what you see at the fountain is a replica.

It will disappoint you if you approach it expecting something other than a small bronze statue surrounded by tourists. Approaching it knowing exactly what it is produces a more useful experience: a look at a famous quirky Brussels tradition, followed by the far more rewarding Grand Place a few minutes’ walk away.

The Grand Place

The Grand Place (Grote Markt) is one of the finest medieval squares in Europe. The town hall (Gothic, 1402-1455) and the Maison du Roi face each other across the cobbled square; the three and four-storey guild halls on the other sides were rebuilt in the Baroque style after Louis XIV’s army bombarded and burned them in 1695. The reconstruction was remarkably rapid; within four years the square was substantially rebuilt. The variety of facades - each guild hall different in its ornament, with gold-gilded details - is remarkable.

UNESCO listed the Grand Place in 1998. The square is at its most photogenic in the morning before the café terraces set up and fill. A flower market runs on the Grand Place from Tuesday to Sunday, running from mid-morning.

The Manneken Pis is a 5-minute walk southwest from the Grand Place.

The Costume Collection

The Manneken Pis has over 1,000 costumes. They are stored and displayed at the GardeRobe MannekenPis (Cour Saint-Géry 13, near the statue). The museum documents the tradition of dressing the statue, which dates from the 17th century. Foreign governments, visiting dignitaries, and organisations have donated costumes; there are versions representing Elvis, the Beatles, the EU presidency, and dozens of national folkloric costumes. Entry around €6.

The statue itself is dressed in different costumes roughly every few days. A calendar of dressings is published at mannekenpis.brussels. On dressing days, a small ceremony takes place at the fountain.

Nearby

Jeanneke Pis (Impasse de la Fidélité, off Rue des Bouchers): a 1987 bronze of a small girl in a similar pose, created as a female counterpart. Less famous, shorter queue of tourists.

Zinneke Pis (corner of Rue des Chartreux and Rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains): a dog, same concept. Installed 1998. Rounds out the set.

Les Marolles: the neighbourhood around the Manneken Pis and extending south is the Marolles, traditionally a working-class Brussels area with its own dialect (Bruxellois/Brusseleer, a mix of French and Dutch) and a large antiques and flea market at Place du Jeu de Balle. The market runs every day (best on Saturday and Sunday) from early morning. Good for ceramics, furniture, and general junk at reasonable prices.

The Galleries Saint-Hubert

The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (near Grand Place, opened 1847) are covered shopping arcades with a glazed iron vault. The first covered shopping gallery in continental Europe. The current tenants are chocolate shops, bookshops, the independent cinema Cinéma des Galeries, and restaurants. The architecture is more significant than the shopping; worth walking through.

Belgian chocolate: the major Belgian chocolatiers all have shops in and around the Galleries. Neuhaus (founded in Brussels, 1857), Godiva, Leonidas. For a more interesting approach: Mary (Rue Royale 73) has been royal chocolatier since 1942; Laurent Gerbaud (Rue Ravenstein 2) near the Palais des Beaux-Arts makes interesting origin chocolates with less conventional flavour combinations.

Beer

Belgium has approximately 1,500 beers in commercial production, with significant regional variation. The main beer types relevant to Brussels: lambic (spontaneously fermented, sour, Brussels-specific), gueuze (blended lambic), kriek (lambic with cherries), and Trappist ales from the six Belgian Trappist monasteries (Westvleteren, Chimay, Rochefort, Orval, Westmalle, Achel).

Delirium Café (Impasse de la Fidélité 4, near Grand Place): over 2,000 beers on the menu, regularly cited as having the widest beer selection in the world. Genuinely worth visiting for scale; the atmosphere is loud and tourist-heavy.

Moeder Lambic (Place Fontainas 8, Ixelles): the serious beer bar. Around 150 rotating taps, mostly Belgian, with significant lamlic representation. The staff know the products. Better for actually understanding what you’re drinking.

À la Mort Subite (Rue Montagne-aux-Herbes-Potagères 7): an Art Nouveau café opened in 1928 that remains largely unchanged. The house lambic (Mort Subite) is brewed specifically for the café. Good for a slow afternoon.

Eating

Chez Léon (Rue des Bouchers 18): a Brussels institution since 1893, famous for mussels (moules) cooked various ways. Tourist-oriented in terms of location but the moules are genuine and well-executed. Around €20-30 for a main. The Rue des Bouchers is entirely tourist restaurants; Léon is the most consistently reliable of them.

Vincent (Rue des Dominicains 8): a 1905 brasserie with Art Nouveau tiled walls depicting animals and hunting scenes. Serves straightforward Belgian brasserie food: steak, sole, vol-au-vent. Around €25-40. Good for an unhurried dinner.

Friterie Tabora (Rue de Tabora 2): a friterie selling Belgian frites in paper cones. Frites cooked twice in beef fat, served with mayonnaise or other sauces. Around €4-6. The correct approach to Belgian frites; better than any restaurant frites.

Where to Stay

Hotel des Galeries (Rue des Bouchers 38): boutique hotel in the Galleries arcade neighbourhood, around €120-200 per night. Good central location.

Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel (Rue Ernest Allard 6): design hotel in the Sablon district (the antiques and art gallery neighbourhood), around €140-220 per night.

Meininger Brussels City Center (Quai du Bois à Brûler 5): hostel and budget hotel in the canal district, dorms from around €30-40, private rooms from €70-100. Good for budget travellers; 15-minute walk from Grand Place.

Ghent is 30 minutes by train from Brussels Centrale. Worth considering as a base if all Brussels accommodation is expensive: Ghent is a more intact medieval city, less tourist-saturated, and the rail connection makes day-tripping effortless.