Street signs in Brussels are in two languages, French and Dutch.
The rule was brought in by mayor Charles Buls in the 19th century. But, confusingly, some streets in central Brussels are also named in the local Brussels dialect, while a cluster of 30 streets near Grand-Place are also named bilingually after comic book characters.
It means the Rue des Sables (Zandstraat in Dutch) is also the Rue Schtroumpf (Smurfstraat in Dutch). It’s a miracle anyone ever finds an address in this city.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
