Every Man, Woman and Dog Must Pee (Or the Brussels Peeing Statues)
On our first full day in Brussels, the plan was to go to the Magritt Museum in the morning. While I’m sure seeing the surrealist’s art would’ve been interesting, Andy and I just aren’t museum people. Instead we decided to go on a peeing statue scavenger hunt. We wanted to see the Brussels peeing statues.
One of the famous landmarks in Brussels is the Manneken Pis, a peeing boy statue. When we were at Zaabär making chocolate, I saw a Manneken Pis replica made out of chocolate, and they even gave us smaller versions in our goody bags.
But I wanted to see the real thing.
Jeanneken Pis
Andy and I left the hotel on a mission. We had three statues to see before going to visit the Royal Palace, followed by lunch with the rest of our group. We decided to go find the peeing girl statue first since she was closest to our hotel.
It turns out she’s pretty high up in an alcove on the wall and protected by a gate. There was also a delivery van parked in front of her, and all of these things combined made it hard for me to get a decent picture. Andy, being much taller than me, was able to help me out, and with a little cropping, I got a few that worked.
Zinneken Pis
When we were done photographing her not-so-private moment, we left the touristy section of town and went in search of the peeing dog statue. It’s in a quiet neighborhood, not too far from the busy streets crowded with tourists, but here we found just a few people who seemed to live in the area.
The dog is supposed to be a fountain like the other two, but he may have been a little dehydrated. His hind leg was lifted so he could relieve himself against a pole, but obviously no one has given him any water in awhile.
Manneken Pis
Finally we wandered towards the most famous of them all, Manneken Pis. Just a few feet away is a waffle restaurant which proudly displays its own version of the statue.
And then we saw the swarms of people, cameras all pointed in the same direction. We had found the original and most famous peeing statue, Manneken Pis. This day he was being modest and was wearing a little costume. According to the sign, he has over 800 outfits! So much for women having the reputation of owning too many clothes!
Even at 11am it was too hot to walk around outside for much longer. Silly mission accomplished, we made our way over to the Royal Palace to cool off and experience something a little less obscene.
Update: We went back about a year later, and this time he wasn’t wearing any of his 800 outfits. I guess sometimes you gotta just let it all hang out.
Thank you to Belgien Tourismus for hosting us! All opinions are my own.
You might also enjoy:
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Belgium
- How Much We Spent Traveling in the Netherlands
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Europe for Two Months
August 30, 2012 @ 12:11 PM
The peeing statues of Belgium must be on a list of the most strangest things you’ll see while traveling, along with people wearing pajamas in the heat of the day in South East Asia.
August 30, 2012 @ 3:37 PM
Those pajamas in Asia sure are funny! I’m finding so many places have peeing statues, it’s quite strange. There’s one in Prague with 2 guys peeing into a pool that’s in the shape of the Czech Republic!
August 30, 2012 @ 1:51 PM
Hi, We have a peeing dog in Townsville, very similar to this one. He has always been dry though!
August 30, 2012 @ 3:38 PM
Hilarious! All those peeing dog statues that don’t actually pee!
August 31, 2012 @ 12:20 AM
Hi Ali,
It is funny, but I never even considered that it was meant to!
Jan
August 31, 2012 @ 4:33 PM
Maybe not! I’m not sure the dog in Brussels is meant to either, but his leg is lifted, so that’s the idea even if it’s not actually set up as a fountain. Good for a laugh!
August 31, 2012 @ 1:31 AM
LMOA! Great post and afternoon activity–you and Andy are too cool. You all are officially my heroes 🙂
August 31, 2012 @ 4:34 PM
Ha! Well, thank you, it’s nice to be someone’s hero, especially for something so silly!
August 31, 2012 @ 10:24 AM
Haha – I like the one holding a waffle best
August 31, 2012 @ 4:35 PM
Thanks Andrea! Yeah, that one is pretty funny, especially since it’s just a few feet from the original statue.
September 2, 2012 @ 12:08 AM
These statues are too funny! We saw the boy when we visited Brussels but didn’t know about the other two. Thanks for sharing so I can see them vicariously through you!
September 2, 2012 @ 1:05 PM
Thanks Jennifer! They were definitely funny to see. Go check them out if you ever go back to Brussels, they’re not too far from the boy.
September 2, 2012 @ 10:47 PM
That was a good day, even if it was a bit too hot.
September 2, 2012 @ 11:10 PM
It was definitely too hot. But yes, fun day aside from that.
September 6, 2012 @ 4:50 PM
Hilarious! What’s up with Belgians and all this pissing? :))
September 6, 2012 @ 11:58 PM
Ha! I have no idea but it was funny!
September 7, 2012 @ 11:50 AM
Haha, you’ve just got to love Belgium – and Brussels in particular. The Manneken Pis is hilarious.
September 7, 2012 @ 5:00 PM
Totally agree! And then having a girl and later a dog pop up in other parts of the city just made the whole thing even more funny.
September 8, 2012 @ 10:46 AM
I have to admit that on my own trip to Brussels, I really didn’t like the city very much. Perhaps it’s because Mannekin Pis was not wearing a costume when I visited? And I had no idea there were other peeing statues in the city! I really missed out!
September 8, 2012 @ 6:27 PM
Ha! Yeah, it was kind of neat to see the statue in one of his costumes. Not every place works for every person, we’re all different. But if you do ever get back to Brussels, go find the other 2 statues.
September 9, 2012 @ 4:19 PM
LOVE THIS… so happy you saw all 3. Especially the peeing dog!!! I love the Mannequin Piss is dressed. I know they dress him up for all occasions… when I went he wasn’t dressed.
September 11, 2012 @ 12:46 AM
Thank you so much for telling us about the other two statues, I had no idea before you and Val went there last year. It was lots of fun, and kind of neat to see the costume.
Ten Weird and Wonderful Things in Brussels. | cherylhoward.com
March 29, 2013 @ 5:42 PM
[…] of a peeing girl (the Jeanneke Pis) and even a peeing dog (the Zinneke Pis)? Check out this post on Ali’s Adventures where Ali and her husband Andy went on a fun mission to seek out the peeing statues of […]
October 8, 2013 @ 10:03 PM
This is just bizarre. I don’t know if I want to try to search them all out for myself or just be satisfied with your post. I think your post is probably more than sufficient. 🙂
October 9, 2013 @ 12:05 PM
It was fun! We always knew about the peeing boy because he’s famous, but when we started researching that trip and came across the other 2, we knew we had to find them. Made for a good laugh!