Tintin Forums

Hi all,

By luck, I've got a business trip to Paris (I'm coming from Australia) and have a free weekend.
I'm hoping to head up to Brussels and pack as much Tintin, comics and Belgian culture as I can into 48 hours :-)

I've been looking at my options and it seems the Hergé Museum is a bit out of town.
This made me wonder the best way to get to it; I can either get a train to Brussels or rent a car and drive (I love driving, I think it's a wonderful way to connect when traveling).

I know the museum is reachable by train, but with limited time I'm wondering how much would be spent in transit (and hence the thought of getting a car).

What do people advise? Accommodation in the city seems affordable and trains seem easy enough, but i want to make sure I'm not spending all my time in transit.

Also, any advice on the "do not miss" items in Brussels would be awesome.
I've been there once before 20 years ago and am more interested in Tintin and quirky cultural things than standard tourist attractions.

Thanks all!

August

There is a shuttle bus from Brussels to the Hergé Museum
Here is the link.

Otherwise rent a car. And I add: consider train only if you have absolutely no other option. Trains in Belgium are very whimsical: delayed, on strike, late, or just simply canceled... It would be a shame to spend your weekend break on the station platform!

You've obviously never been to the U.K. and used a train, dedemax - Belgian trains are like a journey into the distant future, and unbelievably efficient by comparison (although slightly less so than the Netherlands, where I once saw a train arriving 64 seconds late nearly cause a riot of indignant travelers who had never in their lives experienced such poor service...)!

You are right of course, the train does take a bit of time. The problem with the shuttle bus used to be that you had to be staying in a hotel, and that your time at the Museum is limited to when the return service departs, whereas the trains (delays and strikes notwithstanding) are more regular.


We have talked about this before, so information about how to get to and from the Museum would be best discussed in this thread.

As for other things to see and do, well this is the thread for that!

Excellent - thanks very much. I also noticed the Brussels official web site has this Tintin "mini-site", and even a Tintin mini-map.

Still undecided about the car - the drive from Paris sounds really nice and I really like the chance to get out into the countryside, away from the usual paths.

Thanks again!
august

So what did you decide for your belgian week-end ? Will you stay in Brussels ? Just to tell you I live in Belgium and if I can be of any help... for driving to Hergé Museum and back to Brussels, maybe ? I don't know if I can send you a personal email through this forum ?

Moderator Note: Hi, dedmax! That's a very generous offer, and very kind of you.
It's not possible to message a member through the forums directly; the only way is to get in touch by e-mail - addresses can be shown on a member's profile, which can be seen by clicking their name next to a post. Unfortunately prariegrass has opted not to show an e-mail address in their profile, so it will be necessary for them to make the change, or contact you via your own e-mail address.

The Happy Tintinologist Team

I spent a week in Brussels, it was one of the most enjoyable times ever. It was magical but at the same time, I felt a yearning for wanting to see Brussels 50 years ago.