10 Brussels experiences that cost next to nothing – or are flat-out free

27.08.2024 - 17:50 / lonelyplanet.com

Aug 26, 2024 • 7 min read

In a city as brazenly grand as Brussels, with its showstopping Grand Place and flash chocolate shops, it’s refreshing to know that some of the best experiences cost nothing at all. 

An eye-popping trot along the Comic Strip Trail. Free samples of Belgian chocolate (what’s not to love?). Flea market finds, Instagrammable sunset viewpoints and museum days where you can feast on Magritte’s surrealist art. These and more are some of the best things to do in Brussels for very few euros – or none at all.

The Smurfs, Tintin (pronounced tan-tan), Astérix and Obelix: all these famous comic-book favorites began in Belgium. And they’re still very much part of daily life in Brussels, which proudly waves the flag as “comic book capital” of the world. The central hallway of the Comic Art Museum, lodged in a gorgeous Victor Horta–designed art-nouveau building, gives you a free taster.

But it’s really by pounding the city streets that you’ll slip into a real-life comic strip. Don your comfiest shoes for the 5km (3-mile), 3-hour, self-guided Comic Strip Trail, a deep – and free – dive into Belgian comics, with 80 larger-than-life murals all but bouncing off the city walls. Saint Peter watering cannabis plants, naked men crouching on rooftops, mustachioed Astérix and company charging Roman fortresses…you’ll see the lot.

Planning tip: Get a nice early start to have the streets (and the best photo opps) to yourself.

Belgian chocolate is divine and celebrated the world over – and rightly so. Yet you don’t need to spend a cent to try Brussels’ signature delicacy. You can taste the odd chocolate for free before a purchase in many shops, yes – but for a proper feast head to the Neuhaus Outlet Shop on Brussels’ western outskirts (take the metro to Erasmus). Here, you can enjoy plentiful free samples before you make any purchase of a discounted box (or even if you don’t). Pace yourself, and bring water.

Everyone raves about the view at Jardin Mont des Arts for a reason: with ornamental parterres, fountains and a perch above the regal rooftops of the Grand Place, these gardens practically beg to be photographed. Climb the steps to the top of the hill around sunset, then keep your eyes on the skyline so you don’t miss the magic when the Grand Place first lights up the night. The gardens are always glorious – and never more so than when in full bloom on spring and summer evenings.

Planning tip: Don’t rush off as twilight concludes. The real magic of the gardens hits you after dark when the lights of the Grand Place flick on and all of Brussels begins to twinkle.

Every morning, cardboard boxes overflow with porcelain plates, old maps, vinyl, vintage trinkets and enough comic books to stock a library on the