Brussels

My recommendation for Brussels: the ‘comic strip path.’ It’s not really a coherent path as much as random buildings scattered around the city with illustrations of the comics. To be honest, I haven’t heard of most of them, but a few of the characters (e.g. Tintin and Asterix) definitely were part of my childhood. It sent me and my friends on a whirlwind tour of the city. It helped that our map included a speech bubble symbol for each one so we weren’t going completely blind, but finding some of them was like playing hide-and-seek. Side note: we went late one evening in a slightly sketchy part of town. I would definitely recommend staying with friends and avoiding the dark.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A few other things to do:

• If you are a chemistry geek like I am, the Atomnium will not disappoint. It is bcc (body-centered cubic)! Even if you aren’t - it is pretty awesome.
• Eat plenty of Belgian waffles. After 4, they stopped tasting so great.
• Try the mussels and other regional specialties.
• Check out the UN Buildings.
• Visit the other cities in Belgium. Bruges is amazingly picturesque! These guys got us around Bruges and Brussels. Really nice (and free) maps made for youth :)

Originally posted on halfwayaroundtheworld.studentsgoneglobal.com.