Brussels is famous for many things: amazing architecture, delicious chocolate, fluffy waffles, great beer, and being the capital of the European Union. The city is home to about 2.2 million people, and it’s the proud capital of the nation of Belgium. It’s a multicultural city, with about 70% of the population being immigrants, and it’s visited by about 10 million tourists each year.
To find out more about this fascinating city and the Weird Things in Brussels Instagram account, we got in touch with the creator via Instagram. They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain how the page came to be in the first place. "The page started during the 2020 lockdown," they explained. "It was the middle of the pandemic, and there wasn’t much to do. I became interested in photography and started going on long walks with my camera out of boredom."
"At the time, I didn’t feel comfortable photographing people, so I began paying attention to my surroundings instead," the creator continued. "That’s when I realized that a lot of random and strange things constantly happen in Brussels. That realization became the starting point of the page."
We also asked the local what they believe makes Brussels such a special place. "Brussels has a strong sense of nonchalance. The biggest messes, the strangest situations — anything can happen here, and people simply don’t seem to care," they noted. "They just walk past it. I find that really funny. I come across strange things all the time, in the most unexpected places. That said, it really depends on the day: sometimes I can wander around for hours and find almost nothing, and other days I stumble upon countless bizarre scenes."
Next, we asked the creator if they had any favorite photos that they had posted. "One of my recent favorites is a photo of a car parked in a completely absurd way, hanging halfway over a sidewalk," they told Bored Panda. "Another favorite is from last summer: a sun-soaked terrace in the middle of a construction site. That image perfectly captures how absurd and typically Brussels things can be."
Finally, the creator shared their goal for this quirky account. "I hope that the page encourages people to look around more, and to start noticing small details they might otherwise miss."
There's no question that Brussels has a bizarre side, as the photos featured on this list probably couldn’t have been taken anywhere else around the globe. One thing that I found particularly fascinating when I visited Brussels was the fact that I saw countless souvenirs of what appeared to be a small child urinating. Apparently, this little guy is “Manneken [urinate],” and he’s an iconic symbol of the city. He’s so important, in fact, that the statue has over 900 costumes, and he regularly receives gifts from various countries and important visitors.
Something else that makes Brussels quirky is the city’s impressive collection of comic strip street art. Across the city, visitors can find over 50 comic strip murals embellishing various buildings’ walls. You could spend an entire day roaming around the city trying to spot them all! Plus, there’s plenty of other street art that will catch your attention if you keep an eye out.
Another fun fact about Belgium is that the nation actually has three official languages: French, Dutch, and German. And Dutch is spoken by 60% of the population. Meanwhile, over 10% of residents in Brussels are native speakers of Arabic, due to the large immigrant population. Regardless of where you’re from and what language you speak, you’ll probably be able to find someone who speaks the same language as you in Belgium!
Brussels certainly isn’t the first or only big city to become famous for its quirks. Anyone who has lived in NYC, Paris, London, Los Angeles or a similarly large metropolis knows that it’s quite common to witness strange or bizarre things when you live around so many people. Perhaps this is because in big cities, people just go about their business, and they can’t be bothered to comment on what anyone else is doing. Or maybe it’s because when you’re surrounded by so many strangers, you feel invisible, and therefore free to behave however you want.
