Brussels Bingo: Spot 30 Typically Brussels Things
Walk the streets, tick off the card, snap a photo of every typically Brussels thing you can find. From a frites cone to the Atomium gleaming on the horizon, this is a 30-item Brussels bingo that turns any walk into a treasure hunt. No fixed route. Just keep your eyes open.
Challenges (30)
Spot Belgian fries in a cone
Find a paper cone of frites with mayonnaise (or andalouse, samurai, ketchup), Belgium's national snack. Photograph the cone with a dollop of sauce on top.
Spot a Belgian waffle
Find a Belgian waffle (Brussels-style rectangle or Liège-style round caramelised), powdered with sugar or topped with strawberries. Photograph the deep squares.
Spot a chocolate praline window
Find a chocolatier window with rows of pralines (Neuhaus, Godiva, Pierre Marcolini, Mary). Photograph the glistening rows.
Spot Manneken Pis
Find the little bronze peeing boy on the corner of Rue de l'Étuve. Bonus if he is dressed in one of his 1,000+ costumes. Photograph him through the railings.
Spot Tintin on a wall
Find a Tintin mural or wall (Rue de l'Étuve has the most famous one). Brussels has dozens of comic murals on its Comic Book Walk. Photograph one.
Spot a Belgian beer glass
Find a uniquely-shaped Belgian beer glass on a café table (Duvel tulip, Westmalle chalice, Kwak with the wooden stand). Photograph it with the foam.
Spot a Smurf reference
Find a Smurf (Schtroumpf) anywhere: a mural, a comic-shop window, a souvenir-shop figurine, a fountain. The Smurfs were created by Peyo in Brussels. Photograph one.
Spot the EU stars flag
Brussels is the de-facto capital of the EU. Find the circle of yellow stars on blue, flying on a building, a metro station or at the European Quarter. Photograph the flag.
Spot a Belgian lace shop
Find a lace shop window with handmade Belgian lace tablecloths or handkerchiefs (more in the streets around Grand Place). Photograph the doilies through the glass.
Spot the Belgian tricolor
Find the Belgian flag (vertical black-yellow-red stripes) flying on a building, balcony or hotel. Photograph it.
Spot the Grand Place gold
Stand in the centre of the Grand Place / Grote Markt and photograph one of the guildhouses with its gilt facade catching the light.
Spot the Town Hall spire
Find the spire of the Hôtel de Ville on the Grand Place, with the statue of Archangel Michael on top. Photograph the spire reaching for the sky.
Spot the Galeries Royales arches
Walk into the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (the glass-roofed shopping arcade from 1847). Photograph the arched glass roof above the shoppers.
Spot the Bourse
Find the Bourse (Stock Exchange) building on Boulevard Anspach, a neoclassical pile with carved lions out front. Photograph the steps.
Spot the Atomium
Take the metro to Heysel and find the Atomium, the giant 102-metre stainless-steel atom from Expo 58. Photograph it filling the frame.
Spot the Sablon antique stalls
Walk to the Place du Grand Sablon and find the antique stalls (weekends) or the chocolate-shop windows. Photograph a stall or a shop facade.
Spot the Marolles flea market
Walk to Place du Jeu de Balle (the daily Marolles flea market). Photograph a row of stalls with old crockery, vinyl and bric-à-brac.
Spot a Brussels tram
Find a STIB-MIVB tram running through the city (the new orange-and-grey trams or older yellow-grey ones). Photograph one passing.
Spot a Brussels Métro M
Find the white M on blue Métro entrance sign. Photograph one at street level.
Spot the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula
Find the gothic Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula above Gare Centrale. Photograph the twin towers from the parvis.
Spot a Magritte reference
Brussels was René Magritte's home city. Find a Magritte reference: the green apple, the bowler hat, the pipe ("Ceci n'est pas une pipe"), the Magritte Museum facade. Photograph it.
Spot a Belgian endive (chicon)
Find Belgian endive (witloof) on a market stall or grocery display. Photograph the pale spear.
Spot a Brussels-style waffle iron
Find a waffle iron at work behind a stall window (the rectangular deep-grid Brussels iron, not the round Liège iron). Photograph the iron mid-cook.
Spot a moules-frites sign
Find a brasserie advertising moules-frites (mussels and fries), Belgium's signature dish. Photograph the sandwich-board sign or chalk menu.
Spot a Belgian football jersey
Find someone wearing or selling a Belgian Red Devils jersey, or a club kit (Anderlecht purple, Bruges blue-and-black, Standard red). Photograph the jersey.
Spot Jeanneke Pis or Zinneke Pis
Manneken Pis has two siblings: Jeanneke Pis on Impasse de la Fidélité and Zinneke Pis on Rue des Chartreux (the peeing dog). Find one and photograph it.
Spot a Brussels cobblestone alley
Find a cobblestone alley in the lower city (around Manneken Pis, in the Îlot Sacré). Photograph the stones leading into the distance.
Spot a Belgian endive in a dish
Find chicon au gratin or chicon-ham in a brasserie window or on a menu chalkboard. Photograph the menu listing.
Spot Saint-Gilles Art Nouveau
Find an Art Nouveau facade (Victor Horta's influence is everywhere in Saint-Gilles and Ixelles). Photograph the wrought iron and curving lines.
Spot a Speculoos biscuit
Find a speculoos (Lotus or local brand) biscuit on a café saucer next to a coffee, or in a shop window. Photograph the spiced caramel biscuit.
Frequently asked questions
The duration is up to the organizer when they set up the adventure. As a guideline, a focused afternoon through the Grand Place, Sablon and Comic Book Walk ticks off most of the easy items, and stretching the game across a weekend (with a tram trip to Heysel for the Atomium) lets a determined group complete all 30.
Each of the 30 items is a camera challenge. When you spot the thing, take a photo and submit it; the bingo card tracks progress. Play solo, with friends or split into teams and race to tick off the most items.
Some items (the Atomium, certain comic murals) require a short tram or metro trip. Sweep the lower city (Grand Place, Bourse, Manneken Pis) for the easy items, the Sablon for chocolate and antiques, then plan a Heysel detour for the Atomium and Mini-Europe.
The pentagon (the central historic district) hits most items in a loop: Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Galeries Royales, Comic Book Walk. Add the Sablon for chocolate, Place du Jeu de Balle for the Marolles flea market, and Heysel (15 minutes by metro) for the Atomium.
Yes. Kids love spotting Smurfs, Tintin, waffles, Manneken Pis and the Atomium; adults enjoy hunting the Belgian beers, lace shops and Magritte references. The fries-cone and chocolate stops are guaranteed hits.