Charleroi

© OPT / J.P. Rémy / © OPT / J. Jeanmart / © OPT / J. Jeanmart

A Rising City

The capital of Walloon comics, Charleroi, is where publisher Dupuis first released Spirou (Statue of Spirou and Fantasio) as well as the panoply of heroes we still love today: Gaston Lagaffe, Lucky Luke (Statue of Lucky Luke), the Smurfs, Boule et Bill (Statue of Boule & Bill), Buck Dany and so many more.

Possibly less known, but of great artistic relevance, is Charleroi's Art Nouveau heritage, with the Museum of Photography (containing 80,000 photos) among the largest in Europe and a The Glass Museum testifying the ancestral know-how of this region and its flourishing industrial past.

Charleroi was once a city of mines, to which the slagheaps bear witness today in the shape of pointy hills formed by the extraction of coal. As a result of the microclimate around the slagheaps, the region has a very diverse landscape with many plant and animal species, making it a popular destination for walks (The Slag Heap Chain - Carolo Chain).