Your Baudelaire isn't very nice — though as a man from Liège, I do agree with what he writes about the people of Brussels. Lovely walk, well-crafted story full of suspense! You learn a lot and it's great fun — you've had some wonderful ideas!
Paul H.
Literary walks in Brussels
Bruxelles
et les poètes
is an initiative giving flesh and body to the intangible heritage of poetry and of the city of Brussels.
About
A walk through the 19th century, without leaving Brussels.
Because poetry only truly lives when spoken aloud, I offer poetic walks following the footsteps of the poets who lived in Brussels. Baudelaire, Hugo, Rimbaud, Verlaine and many others : all of them wrote about Brussels, whether to celebrate it or to curse it.
Through the stories of these poets, you'll discover an unexpected capital, a haven for exiles on the run and the beating heart of a Europe in turmoil.
No prior knowledge is required : the walk is meant just as much for the literary enthusiast as for the curious newcomer discovering these texts for the first time.
La forme d'une ville change plus vite, hélas, que le cœur d'un mortel. Baudelaire — Le Cygne, 1859
Walk nº I
Pauvre Baudelaire !
Baudelaire arrived in Brussels in April 1864. He thought he would stay two weeks; he stayed two years, and returned to Paris horizontally. He had come hopeful and light-hearted; his stay would turn into a nightmare and end with the writing of the most ferocious pamphlet our country has ever known : Pauvre Belgique !
Brilliant in form, merciless and painful in substance, the book contains some of the most scathing pages in all French literature. But what did Baudelaire experience in Brussels to conceive such hatred ? And why did he come to our city in the first place ?
These are exactly the questions I'll answer over the course of a poetic stroll through the places haunted by the Parisian poet : the Hôtel du Grand Miroir (long gone), the Galeries Saint-Hubert, and many other stations.
Dois-je remercier Dieu de m'avoir fait Français et non Belge ? Charles Baudelaire — Pauvre Belgique
P.S.: please note that walks only take place subject to favourable weather conditions.
Testimonials
They came along, here's what they thought.
Thank you, I really enjoyed it! Yacine worked very professionally and with a touching originality. I particularly loved the appeals to the imagination and the feeling of travelling back in time.
Anne G.
Thank you for this immersion and journey : it was so alive, and you could feel the passion and love for poetry! It was wonderful to (re)discover Brussels under the sun and through literature.
Monique R.
Thank you again for this stroll through the streets and alleys of Brussels, imagined by Baudelaire and… Yacine. Beautiful writing, beautiful story.
Olivier C.
I'm not a French speaker (I'm Flemish), but I still adored Yacine's walk. He's passionate yet clear, thorough yet fluid. He turns this walk into a real experience that no lover of literature or Brussels should miss.
Line G.
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Coming next
Other voices, other streets.
The project is unfolding step by step, with Belgium's bicentenary in 2030 as a horizon. Research and reading are underway.
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IIVictor HugoL'homme-siècle en exilThe world's greatest literary celebrity once lived in exile in Brussels. From the Grand-Place to Saint-Josse, a walk through the life of the « century-man » : from the Misérables Banquet to the night attack on his house at Place des Barricades.In preparation
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IIIVerlaine & RimbaudPassions toxiquesFollowing the most iconic couple in the history of poetry : from their arrival in Brussels to their pathetic separation. The two lovers would never see each other again ; Verlaine would be jailed in Mons.In preparation
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IVMarceline Desbordes-ValmoreMarceline débordeLittle known today, the poetess was a figure of immense sensitivity — a tragic life filled with grief. We'll follow the footsteps of the woman who acted at La Monnaie, and who always made room for the Other, forgetting herself behind.In research
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VLa Jeune BelgiqueVerhaeren, Rodenbach, MaeterlinckFlemish poets writing in French, they marked the renewal and golden age of Belgian poetry. Too often forgotten, I'll tell you about their fraught relationship with language and with Belgium. A walk steeped in Belgian-ness.In research
The pilot episode
A self-produced pilot, a video chronicle without leaving home.
Pauvre Baudelaire ! is the first episode of a documentary series extending the project onto screen. Shot in the theatre of the Musée des Enfants, I tell the story of Baudelaire's life and his Brussels years alongside the actress Anjeli Pillay.
Premiered at Cinéma Aventure on 10 May 2026, it now serves as a calling card for partner institutions and aims to make the project known as widely as possible.
CastAnjeli Pillay & Yacine Adil
Text & productionYacine Adil
DirectorPaulin Grenade
Availableon YouTube
In the press
BX1 joined one of the walks.
In April 2026, the Brussels channel BX1 (formerly Télé Bruxelles) followed a public Pauvre Baudelaire ! walk. The report captures the spirit of the journey and the living relationship with the Parisian poet's texts. (Report in French.)
About me
My name is Yacine, I'm a Brussels native and (on-and-off) in love with my city. I started these walks by bringing together what matters most to me : the city, poetry, history.
I designed them the way I would have wanted to attend them at 17, back when I just wanted to escape Brussels at all costs.
Now reconciled with it, I work at the Théâtre des Martyrs as a post-show talk host and head usher. I'm a graduate of IAD in filmmaking and of ULB in performing arts and philosophy.
The project on video.
Get in touch
A question, a partnership ?
For any inquiry, feel free to write to me directly.
Words about Brussels
They spoke of the city, for better and for worse.
Le hasard avait mis Bruxelles au centre de tout, mais elle ne participait de rien.
Carlo Bronne Historien
Un Belge ne marche pas, il dégringole.
Charles Baudelaire Pauvre Belgique !, 1866
Mon corps est à Paris mais mon cœur est à Bruxelles…
Alexandre Dumas
Le visage belge ou plutôt bruxellois : obscur, informe, blafard ou vineux, bizarre construction des mâchoires, stupidité menaçante.
Charles Baudelaire Pauvre Belgique !, 1866
Voisine de la France, parlant la même langue, citée pour ses libertés et son hospitalité, la Belgique était le port de refuge où devaient venir naturellement échouer les épaves des révolutions.
Amédée Saint-Férréol Les proscrits français en Belgique, 1875
Le faro est tiré de la grande latrine, la Senne ; c'est une boisson extraite des excréments de la ville. Ainsi, depuis des siècles, la ville boit son urine.
Charles Baudelaire Pauvre Belgique !, 1866
En fait, Bruxelles est une pute : elle est à la fois du plaisir et de la tristesse. Attirance et répulsion.
Pascal Smet
Bruxelles est l'éteignoir de l'imagination.
Voltaire Lettre à Hénault, 1741
Bruxelles n'est pas une ville, mais la banlieue d'une ville qu'on construira peut-être un jour… Espérons…
Octave Mirbeau La 628-E8, 1907
À l'exception de quelques belles œuvres d'art qui semblent y être par accident, la ville de Bruxelles est comme un mauvais Paris, un Paris dénué de tout ce qu'il y a de noble et abandonné à tout ce qu'il y a de vulgaire.
G. K. Chesterton Tremendous Trifles, 1909
Je suis tout ébloui de Bruxelles, ou pour mieux dire, de deux choses que j'ai vues à Bruxelles : l'hôtel de ville, avec sa place, et Sainte-Gudule.
Victor Hugo Lettre à Adèle Hugo, 17 août 1837
L'hôtel de ville de Bruxelles est un bijou comparable à la flèche de Chartres : une éblouissante fantaisie de poète tombée de la tête d'un architecte.
Victor Hugo Lettre à son épouse, 1837
Bruxelles est bien la ville de la contrefaçon. Le ruban amarante de Léopold est une contrefaçon de la légion d'honneur.
Victor Hugo En voyage — France et Belgique, 1837
Par un malencontreux hasard, la petite rivière qui passe à Bruxelles s'appelle, pas tout à fait la Seine, mais la Senne.
Victor Hugo En voyage — France et Belgique, 1837
[Ici] les statues ont du ventre, les anges ne sont pas joufflus, ils sont bouffis. Tout cela a bu de la bière.
Victor Hugo En voyage — France et Belgique, 1837
La Belgique est le paradis et la chasse gardée des propriétaires fonciers, des capitalistes et des curés.
Karl Marx 1869
Je suis le souverain d'un petit pays et de petites gens.
Léopold II Au baron van der Elst, 1907
Bruxelles se fait passer, bien à tort, pour une capitale. La vraie capitale serait Anvers, si une capitale pouvait être un simple centre de commerce.
Charles Baudelaire Lettre à Ancelle, 1864
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