Manneken Pis

The irreverent symbol of Brussels' joi de vivre
Word to the wise: Time your visit to see one of the 'dressing ceremonies', when officials march from Grand Place and dress Manneken Pis in one of the many costumes from his wardrobe.
Talk of the town: Since the 1980s, Brussels has also had a "Jaenneke-Pis" a female version of the statue, sited in Impasse de la Fidélité.
Belgians have some capacity for self-mockery, as is illustrated well by Brussels' most famous landmark - a statue of a boy urinating.
The original Manneken Pis was erected in 1388 but later destroyed. As a result, the City of Brussels commissioned Jerome Duquesnoy to make a replica of the beloved monument in 1619, this time from bronze rather than stone. However, this replica was interred in Maison du Roi in the nearby Grand Place for safekeeping and the statue on show today is yet another copy made in 1817.

In a further eccentric Brussels twist, Manneken Pis is often clothed in one of over 800 outfits given to the city by royalty, celebrities and politicians from around the globe. The first person to donate a costume was none other than King Louis XV of France in 1747, as an apology for his troops stealing the statue and dumping it outside a brothel.

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