Manneken Pis

I first went to see this statue in 1979, when I was living in Belgium. We had been in Brussels for the day. It was quite late and our train home didn’t leave for a while. One of the friends that I was with had lived in Brussels and so he led us to the statue.

It was very late at night, and very dark. We walked through the Grote Markt and then down the small street where the statue stands.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the statue, but I was a bit, shall we say, underwhelmed, when I saw how small that it actually was. We stayed and looked at it for a few minutes, took a few pictures and then headed for the train station. I noticed that there was a police car parked near the statue. I was told that they have someone watching it all of the time because otherwise it tends to get stolen.

he wears the cutest little costumes

It’s a lot smaller then you think.

One of the best statues I’ve ever seen, a little boy peeing, which is kind of the translation of “Manneken Pis.”

As others have said, it is so small you need to bring binoculars to see it from ten feet away. The only things I enjoyed in Brussels (two separate trips) were the chocolate and the lace. You can keep the rest.

Cute.

Ok, so it’s tiny, there are always huge crowds of tourists around it, the fence ensures you can only get close enough to barely make out what it is (see the picture above – can YOU tell what it is?), and it’s surrounded by tacky souvenir shops. On the other hand, it’s only a couple of streets from the Grand Place (so if you’re there you might as well walk down there), and it’s one of Brussels’ best known landmarks. To go to Belgium and not see Manneken Pis would be a shame. They also have some wonderful chocolate shops down that street, so buy yourself some yummy chocolate while you’re there. :-)

It was closed off when I visited, but I think it looked over rated from what I could see of it.

Just that.

It might take you a while to find it, but if you do it will be well worth it. Manakin Pis is a little statue of a boy peeing in the fountain.

One unknown fact about Manneken Pis to tourists (before they get there) is that the boy is often dressed up in different outfits in the middle of the night (no, people aren’t supposed to do this—but it’s hilarious), and you can usually find pictures at nearby stores of the many clothes he’s worn over the years.