Between tramway, metro and bus, the complex STIB network makes it easy to get around Brussels. But what if… What if we did more than simply move from point A to point B? To make exploring the city even more fascinating, we’ve had some fun replacing the names of the metro stations with the names of cultural venues on the earth’s surface. Museums, theaters, cinemas, libraries, stadiums and gardens… From east to west – across the capital and its various metro/tramway lines – find the places that are inseparable from Brussels’ cultural heritage! Enough to give you ideas for outings?
How did we create this map of metro stations represented by their cultural venues?
Using online location tools (and our extensive knowledge of Brussels’ heritage), we swapped the names of each metro/tramway station with the names of nearby cultural venues. “De Brouckère” became “La Monnaie”, “Rogier” became “Théâtre National”, “Etterbeek Gare” was renamed “Kinograph” and so on.
The choice was sometimes difficult: we would so much have liked to add “CENTRALE for contemporary art” alongside “BRONKS”, or the Nova, Galeries and Aventure cinemas to “De Brouckère”… In the manner of certain double-named stations in other capitals (for example: “Sèvres – Lecourbe” in Paris), we inserted two place names when it made sense. For example, “Botanique” becomes “Musée de la BD – Le Botanique”. After all, when you like it, you don’t count!
Please note:
- To improve readability, some place names have been reduced to their initials, for example: “BPL de Woluwé-St-Lambert” for “Bibliothèque Publique Locale de Woluwé-Saint-Lambert”.
- Where no cultural venue was visible in the vicinity of a station, we chose to place sports venues or parks and gardens inseparable from the daily lives of the people of Brussels, for example: “Parc de Laeken”, “Stade Fallon” and “Stade Roi Baudouin”.
- The above map is not intended for administrative or public use. It can never replace the official STIB network map, which you can see by clicking here.
So, what do you think of this map? What name has your station changed into? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook and Instagram. See you soon on Bruxelles Secrète!