Page 68 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

66  BEL GIUM AND L UXEMBOURG REGION B Y REGION

q Rue des Bouchers the resident literati – Victor
Hugo and Alexandre Dumas
City Map 2 D2. @ 29, 38, 46, 47, 48,
63, 66, 71, 86, 88, 95. q De Brouckère, have attended lectures
Bourse, Gare Centrale. v 3, 4, 31, 32. here. The arcades remain
a popular venue, with their
Like many streets in this area of shops, a cinema, theatre
the city, Rue des Bouchers retains and restaurants.
its medieval name, evoking the
time when this meandering, e Centre Belge de
cobblestoned street was home
to the butcher’s trade. Aware of la Bande Dessinée
its historic importance and 20 Rue des Sables, 1000 BRU.
heeding the concerns of the City Map 2 E2. Tel (02) 2191980.
public, the city council declared @ 29, 38, 46, 47, 61, 63, 66, 71, 86, 88.
this area the Ilot Sacré (Sacred q Botanique, De Brouckère, Rogier.
Islet) in 1960, restoring surviving v 3, 4, 31, 32, 92, 94. Open 10am–
buildings and forbidding the The 19th-century Galéries St-Hubert, with 6pm Tue–Sun. & 7 8 - =
further alteration or destruction its soaring domed glass roof ∑ comicscenter.net
of architectural façades. Hence,
Rue des Bouchers abounds in w Galéries St-Hubert Affectionately known by
17th-century step ped gables Rue des Bouchers, 1000 BRU. its initials as cébébédé, this
and decorated doorways. City Map 2 D2. @ 38, 71. v 3, 4, 25, museum for comic strip art
Today, this pedestrianized 31, 32, 94. q Gare Centrale. 7 pays tribute to the Belgian
thoroughfare is best known for passion for bandes dessinées
its plethora of cafés and restau- Sixteen years after ascending (comic strips) and to many
rants, which are mainly aimed at the throne as the first king of internationally acclaimed comic
tourists. Many types of cuisines Belgium, Léopold I inaug urated strip artists from both Belgium
are on offer here, including the opening of these grand and abroad.
Chinese, Greek, Italian and arcades in 1847. St-Hubert Arranged over three levels,
Indian. The most impressive has the distinction of being the collection is housed in a
sights are the lavish pavement the first shopping arcade in classic Art Nouveau building
displays of seafood, piled high continental Europe, and one originally designed in 1903 by
on mounds of ice and lit by a of the most elegant. Designed Victor Horta (see p84) as Les
romantic amber glow from the in Neo-Renaissance style by Magasins Wauquez, an
lamps. However, these displays Belgian architect Jean-Pierre enormous fabric warehouse.
are only permitted in winter Cluysenaer, its vaulted glass Saved from demolition in the
due to city health regulations. roof covers three sections – 1980s, it reopened in 1989 as an
At the end of the street, at Galerie du Roi, Galerie de la impressive museum and archive
the Impasse de la Fidélité, is Reine and Galerie des Princes – centre dedicated to the comic
an acknowledgement of sexual which house a range of luxury strip, which is often referred to
equality. Erected in 1987, shops and cafés. The ornate as the “ninth art” (see pp28–9).
Jeanneke-Pis is a coy, yet interior and expensive goods One of the most popular
cheeky, female version of her on sale made the galleries a permanent exhibitions is a tour
“brother”, the more famous fashionable meeting place for of engaging comic strip heroes
Manneken-Pis (see p64). 19th-century society, including such as Hergé’s Tintin, arguably
the most well-known Belgian
comic character. The tour also
includes The Smurfs, which first
appeared in the Spirou journal
in 1958 and went on to have
its own tele vision show and hit
records. Other displays detail
the stages of putting together
a comic strip, from initial ideas
and rough pencil sketches
through to final publication.
Major exhibitions featuring the
work of fam ous cartoonists and
studios are regularly held. The
museum also houses some
6,000 original plates, displayed
in rotation, as well as an archive
of photographs, bio graphies
Lively Rue des Bouchers, lined with restaurants and cafés and other artifacts.
For hotels and restaurants see p266 and pp280–83

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