Mont des Arts
A formal garden and free viewpoint over central Brussels, at the top of Place de l'Albertine, straight up the road from the apartment.
The figure is small, and that is the first thing anyone says about him. He stands about sixty centimetres, on a corner two streets from the Grand-Place, usually behind a crowd of phones held at arm's length.
The bronze on the corner is a replica. The 1619 original by Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder was moved to the Maison du Roi on the Grand-Place after one theft too many, and the current copy dates from 1965.
What makes him worth the detour is the wardrobe. He owns several hundred costumes, donated over the centuries by visiting delegations, guilds, sports clubs and cities, and he is dressed several times a month according to a public calendar posted on the railings. Much of the collection is kept on display in a dedicated wardrobe museum nearby.
If you are following the crowds, you will also meet Jeanneke-Pis in an alley off Rue des Bouchers, and Zinneke-Pis, a dog, on Rue des Chartreux. Neither is old. Both are jokes that stuck.
Everyone warns you he is smaller than expected, and he is. Go anyway, then check the calendar on the railings: half the fun is finding out what he has been dressed as that week.
How far is it?
| From | Straight line | On foot |
|---|---|---|
| Grand-Place | 260 m | approx. 5 min |
| Manneken-Pis | 0 m | approx. 1 min |
| Our apartment | 270 m | approx. 5 min |
| Brussels Central | 480 m | approx. 9 min |
| Place du Grand Sablon | 580 m | approx. 11 min |
