Adventures with Tintin

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Banner idea 1: Metro station mural Banner idea 2: Hergé signature

The Adventures of Tintin (French: Les Aventures de Tintin) is a series of 24 comic books by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, originally published from 1929 until 1983. A typical story involves Tintin, a courageous and idealistic young investigative reporter from Brussels, getting mixed up in the machinations of criminals or else confronted with a mystery that needs solving. Accompanied by his trusty dog Snowy, and an ever-growing ensemble cast of eccentric companions, Tintin is a prolific traveller who has had adventures throughout Europe and across the globe. Now you can follow in his footsteps, as Wikivoyage maps the locations featured in the comic books, either as themselves or as inspiration for fictional locations.

Understand

History and overview of the series

The Adventures of Tintin is one of the most well-known bandes dessinées (French language comic books) of the 20th century, and Tintin himself is possibly the most famous Belgian to have ever 'lived'. The character was created by Georges Remi, better known by his pen-name Hergé, which is a phonetic approximation of the author's initials, in reverse (RG). The series is known for its beautiful and complex artwork, slapstick humour, biting satire and colourful cast of eccentric characters.

The first stories were crudely-drawn simplistic tales designed to be anti-Communist and pro-Belgian imperialist propaganda for the young readers of Le Petit Vingtième, a Catholic youth newspaper supplement. Tintin's very first outing, In the Land of the Soviets (1929) is an unashamed condemnation of the Soviet Union. Some of the earlier adventures, notably Tintin in the Congo (1931) and Tintin in America (1932) have been accused of racism and glorification of violence. In general, these first attempts had fairly mediocre, rambling plots, although the author's unique humour and sense of adventure were present from the start.

Hergé matured significantly as a writer and artist during the 1930s: his signature ligne claire drawing style was perfected, and his narratives gradually became more complex and liberal in their stances. A significant turning point was The Blue Lotus (1936), which depicted and strongly condemned the Imperial Japanese occupation of China. The story is known for its realistic and sympathetic depiction of Chinese culture, and was the first time Tintin (and by extension his creator) was seen to oppose tyranny from a moral standpoint; this would become one of his most defining character traits in later adventures.

During the German occupation of Belgium in the Second World War, the stories by necessity lost their political element, and became much more about escapist adventures in far-flung corners of the world. Examples include The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941) and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944). However, the themes of friendship and loyalty came to the fore, as a growing cast of characters were added to the series. Hergé's true feelings about the war and horrors of Nazism are alluded to in The Shooting Star (1942), in which a meteorite threatens the destruction of the world.

In the post-war era, the stories continued to explore such themes as scientific exploration (Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon, 1953-1954) the opposition between fascism, war and pacifism (The Calculus Affair, 1956, Land of Black Gold, 1972 and Tintin and the Picaros, 1976), slavery (The Red Sea Sharks, 1958), and the power of loyalty and friendship to trump the odds (Prisoners of the Sun, 1949 and Tintin in Tibet, 1960). At the same time, Hergé redrew and to an extent rewrote the majority of his earlier stories, and it is these 1940s colour versions that most readers know today. Hergé continued to write new stories until his death in 1983, and indeed the last adventure (Tintin and Alph-Art) remains unfinished.

Characters

Initially, the only two main characters were Tintin and Snowy, but over time Hergé added more to the mix, so that by the end of the series Tintin has a close extended family he can turn to when in trouble:

Tintin et Milou

• Tintin — a boy reporter of ambiguous age and background with apparently no family and extensive funds for world travel, the series' protagonist is a smart, brave, resourceful and conscientious young man. His thirst for exploration and need to get to the bottom of a mystery frequently land him in hot water with dangerous people, though his travels have also allowed him to make many friends across the globe. Somewhat of an everyman, and certainly the 'straight man' in a world of oddballs, Tintin was designed by Hergé as a sort of ideal boy scout, with large reserves of physical and moral strength, and compassion even for his enemies.
• Snowy (Milou) — quite inseparable from Tintin is his pet fox terrier. Snowy's occasional selfishness, vanity, and unusually cynical world view (for a dog) manifest in a dry commentary of the events he and Tintin encounter. However, this belies his incredibly loyal and sweet nature. He adores Tintin, who is the only human character who seems to understand his dialogue.
• Captain Haddock (Capitaine Haddock) — Hergé's most complex character is a hard-drinking and foul-mouthed sea dog. Cursed with unrelenting bad luck usually caused by the thoughtlessness of others, prone to mood swings and rages, and rather too fond of Loch Lomond Whisky, Haddock is also selfless, kind and in possession of a strong moral compass. A reluctant traveller, the Captain grudgingly tags along on many of Tintin's adventures, but has been prepared to sacrifice his own life to save his friends on more than one occasion.
• Thomson and Thompson (Dupont et Dupond) — stunningly amateurish and clumsy detectives who are somehow consistently trusted with important cases, the Thompson Twins are pompously unaware of their own low street smarts. With nearly identical appearances and a weird set of verbal ticks, they unwittingly compete with the Captain for highest number of self-inflicted injuries in any given adventure. Tintin usually ends up solving their cases for them, though they rarely acknowledge this.
• Professor Calculus (Professeur Tournesol) — a nutty professor who is definitely more than "a little hard of hearing", Calculus is a brilliant polymath with expertise in fields as varied as physics, archaeology, botany, engineering, dowsing and savate. Level-headed and unflappably jolly in the worst crisis, unless you're stupid enough to call him a goat, the Professor is responsible for taking Tintin and his friends to the Moon and back.
• Bianca Castafiore — the only woman in Tintin's inner circle of friends is a melodramatic opera diva with a voice that can shatter glass. Nicknamed the "Milanese Nightingale" by the paparazzi who track her every move, she is strong-willed, overbearing and tends to dominate any room she's in. She is nonetheless a faithful friend to Tintin and Captain Harrock, erm Paddock.

Fictional countries

Plausible locations of each of Hergé's fictional countries

While many of the series' settings exist in real life, and Tintin himself lives in the very real city of Brussels, there are also a number of made-up countries with their own endemic problems. These countries appear specifically so Hergé can make a point about real life places and régimes, without offending anybody.

• Syldavia and Borduria are two mutual enemies apparently located in the Balkan region of Europe. Syldavia is depicted as a small monarchy much like Belgium. Early in the series, it seems very poor and backwards, though by the 1950s it has somehow developed a space programme and is the first nation to land on the moon, beating NASA by some 15 years. Syldavia's existence is periodically threatened by its aggressive and expansionist larger neighbour, Borduria, though the two are never actually depicted declaring open war. The one time Tintin visits Borduria, it is depicted as a Nazi-Commie dictatorship in thrall to a certain Marshall Kûrvi-Tasch, from which the protagonists barely escape with their lives.
• San Theodoros is a Spanish-speaking banana republic in South America, apparently in the Amazon region. Throughout the series, it is locked in a never-ending series of armed revolutions caused by competing junta factions led respectively by General Alcazar and General Tapioca. These revolutions are shown as having very little effect on the living standards of ordinary San Theodorans, who generally live in poverty. The country is manipulated into declaring war on its neighbour Nuevo-Rico by men representing American and British oil interests. The war is a not-so-subtle nod towards the Gran Chaco war of the 1930s that's now mostly forgotten outside the region. The remote jungles on the San Theodoros - Nuevo-Rico border are home to the indigenous Arumbaya people, who curiously speak a language that sounds a lot like working class Brussels creole.
• Khemed is an oil-rich Arab nation governed by an Emir, but apparently part of the British Empire. Most of the country is desert, and largely inhabited by nomadic Bedouin tribes who are frequently at war with one another. Although wealthy, Khemed is also a hotbed of corruption, with oil-syphoning, acts of terror and even the transportation of slaves openly carried out. Tintin's arch-enemy, the supervillain Rastapopoulos, focuses a lot of his activities on Khemed.

Tintin's destinations

locations listed at User:Linzybear/lists/2 (i.e. the actual places depicted in the series, by country)

Also of use: List of imaginary locations from the series on Wikipédia

Belgium

“ Tintin: Hooray! There's the Belgian frontier! It's lovely to be back in Belgium, isn't it Snowy? Tra...lala...la...

Snowy: Tintin...that's not very dignified!

”

—Tintin and Snowy arrive home; Tintin in the Land of the Soviets

Brussels

26, rue Terre-Neuve, Brussels

The flea market in Marolles

• 26 Labrador Road (26, rue du Labrador) - Tintin's home address is sadly fictional, however fans can choose from two streets in Brussels that were the possible inspiration:
  • 1 Rue du Labrador (Laeken. Tram: Esplanade). While this does share the same name as Tintin's street, you won't find any number 26 here. In fact, you won't find any houses at all, as this is just a short cobbled street linking two suburban roads on the very northern edge of Brussels. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 2 Rue Terre-Neuve (Train: Chapelle / Kapellekerk). This road suits Labrador Road much more in both look and ambiance, and is only a short walk from the Grand Place, tying in with the comics' depiction of Tintin's neighbourhood as being in central Brussels. Terre-Neuve means "Newfoundland" in French, a territory which shares its Canadian province with Labrador. Add to that the small matter of Hergé's grandmother having lived in rue Terre-Neuve, at - you guessed it - number 26, you're on to a sure fire winner that this was indeed intended to be Tintin's address. (updated Jan 2018)

• Flea Market - An antiques and bric-a-brac market features very prominently at the start of both the comic and film versions of The Secret of the Unicorn. Look no further than place du Jeu de Balle, a few minutes' walk from rue Terre-Neuve:
  • 3 Marché aux Puces - Vlooienmarkt (To be precise: Flea Market), Place du Jeu de Balle-Vossenplein (Marolles). Daily 07:00-14:00. This flea market offers everything from the weird to the wonderful at rock-bottom prices. You may not find any treasures as valuable as The Unicorn, but you never know what you might unearth. As the Thompsons discovered to their cost, pickpockets prey on tourists and gullible police detectives at this market. 

• Gare du Nord - Tintin and Snowy leave and return to Brussels at this railway station in the first volume. Notably, at the end, the duo's arrival is celebrated by a crowd of thousands proclaiming Long live Tintin and Snowy. Sadly, the ornate mid-19th century station depicted in the comics was demolished in 1955; the current Gare du Nord is not even in the same place. To visit the site of the original station, go to 4 Place Charles Rogier, which is still a pleasant pedestrianised square, albeit one with a much more modern feel.

• Observatory - Where Tintin and Professor Phostle discover the existence of a huge meteorite on a collision course with Earth (The Shooting Star). Hergé's inspiration was almost certainly the 5 Royal Observatory of Belgium in the district of Uccle, and you can easily view the complex from the outside. However, short of a few 'open doors' days around the year, the Observatory is not open to the public. Similar attractions in the Brussels area that may pique your interest are:
  • 6 Planetarium, Avenue de Bouchout (Brussels), ☏ +32 2 474 70 50, planetarium@planetarium.be. M–F: 09:00-17:00, Sa–Su: 10:00–17:00, plus regular evening events. Wide range of 360° films suitable for all ages, presented in French, Dutch and English. Adults: €7, concessions: €5. There are combo tickets available with Mini-Europe, with Atomium, and with the Mira Observatory in Grimbergen (see below).. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 7 MIRA Public Astronomical Observatory, Abdijstraat 22 (Grimbergen), ☏ +32 2 269 12 80, info@mira.be. Individual visits: W, Su: 14:00-18:00. Evening public observations: last Friday of the month (Sept–Jun). Explore a gigantic interactive map of the sky, try out different experiments, view telescopes and a meteorological office. Who knows, you may even make your own discovery! €3. (updated May 2017)

Klow and its royal palace / park is Brussels

The Tintin Route - guided tour around the capital.

Around Belgium

• Docks - Tintin and Snowy appear to live within walking distance of a huge international shipping port. However, Brussels is landlocked, and the only "Docks" in the city is a shopping centre. The docks of the comic series are therefore likely to be in Antwerp, some 50 km north of Brussels.
  • 1 Port of Antwerp. Take a boat tour of the second largest port in Europe and fifth largest in the world. There are various companies offering tours of differing price and length. If you don't get kidnapped by opium smugglers, all the better. (updated Jan 2018)

Notes From Land of the Soviets:

• Liège - "Some sort of exhibition there, I expect" - Snowy (probably referring to the Exposition Universelle)
• Tienen (Fr:Tirlemont) - "Sugar lumps comes from Tirlemont, don't they?" - Snowy. It is the centre of the Belgian sugar industry.
• Leuven (Fr:Louvain) - Very close to Brussels; home of the oldest Catholic university in the world. Beautiful architecture

where are the docks? Zeebrugge perhaps? Or else in France / NL?

Arabian Peninsula

anywhere more specific?

Armenia

(origin of the Karaboudjan, despite the fact armenia is landlocked)

Antarctica

Thompsons with pendulum

Arctic

meteorite

Australia

Sydney - Where Tintin and co never arrived.

Belarus

Tintin enters the "Land of the Soviets" at Stolbtsy - there's no WV article on this, probably with good reason. Nearby Nesvizh is more promising, with a castle, and plenty of fine Baroque buildings.

Congo

Oh lord

The only named place - Kalabelou - is fictional.

Presumably we're looking for museums on the colonial period, on the influence of the Catholic Church.

There's probably some stuff back in Belgium as well.

Can we cover the Pygmies without being racist? There do seem to be some "pygmy villages" mentioned on WV as visitor attractions.

Wildlife reserves? Wildlife photography? Hunting? Animal ethics

China

"It seems a group of bandits blew up the Shanghai-Nanking Railway" - Mr Wang, Blue Lotus

Experience a train ride from Shanghai to Nanjing! The slowest K-trains travel between two cities within 4 hours while the fastest G-trains shorten the journey to 1.5 hours. With the fastest trains in China, you could consider traveling from Shanghai to Beijing in 4.5 hours! Train tickets can be bought at Shanghai Hongqiao railway station.

"Nanking Road! It's an emergency" - Tintin, Blue Lotus

Nanking Road, now Nanjing Road, is one of the longest main roads in Shanghai that runs from west to east. Today, Nanjing West Road is highly developed with high-end shopping malls and office buildings while Nanjing East Road leads up to The Bund where much of the old Shanghai can still be observed.

While you are in Shanghai, perhaps a trip to Qibao Old Street could be interesting. The area was once the residence of the painter and sculptor Zhang Chongren, a friend of the Belgian cartoonist Hergé, on whom the character Chang Chong-Chen from "The Adventures of Tintin" was based.

England

incl. Southampton in one of the books. Which one?

France

incl. Eiffel Tower - Thompsons

Germany

Perhaps due to the turbulence of the 20th century, Tintin never has a full adventure in Germany. He does, however, make two flying visits to Berlin on the way to and from Moscow, and things don't go well for either the reporter, or for our first look at how Hergé handles foreigners. After the train he arrives in town on is blown up by Soviet agents, Tintin is arrested by German police "for misappropriating ten coaches and causing the disappearance of 218 people". His protests of innocence falling on deaf ears, Tintin is briefly incarcerated before adopting a wafer-thin disguise to escape from his cell and leading the hapless police on a Keystone Cops-esque motorbike, car, and plane chase around Berlin to many cries of "halt!" and "zum Teufel!"

The modern day German police are among the most professional and trustworthy in the world, though for tips on how to get through encounters with cops in countries with a more Thompsonian approach to law-enforcement, see Wikivoyage's guide to authority trouble.

The façade of Tempelhof Airport

• 8 Tempelhof Airport (Flughafen Tempelhof), Tempelhof and Neukölln (Take U-Bahn line U6 to Platz der Luftbrücke, Paradestraße, or Tempelhof). Sunrise to sunset. The "mother of all airports", according to Sir Norman Foster, is a huge relic of the interwar era. It was here that Tintin touched down in a stolen Soviet aircraft after his escape from the USSR, in the process being mistaken for a famous aviator on a flight from pole to pole. Nowadays, the airfield is a spacious park with many visitors in summer and autumn. The terminal building is still fascinating - the halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe, are still some of the largest structures in the world. The park is free; guided tour of the building €15 for adults, €10 for students, €7 for children 14 and under.  

• 9 Police Historical Collection (Polizeihistorische Sammlung), Platz der Luftbrücke 6 (adjacent to Tempelhof), ☏ +49 30 4664762450, phs@polizei.berlin.de. M-W 09:00-15:00. Official website (in German). A museum of Berlin's different police forces through the ages, displaying historic uniforms (including the distinctive Weimar-era helmet-and-greatcoat look featured in Land of the Soviets), weapons, and specialist equipment such as cameras. Completing the collection are a photo archive and around 50 police vehicles, which are only viewable on certain 'open doors' days. €2, concessions €1. (updated Oct 2019)

It's fair to say that the list of attractions in Berlin with even a tenuous link to Tintin is rather short, largely because in the few strips Hergé devotes to the city, he utterly fails to delve beyond the stereotype of Germans being authoritarian alcoholics. But, if you want to get a feel for the Weimar period (1918-1933), and particularly the vibrant artistic scene that the city enjoyed, and which Hergé would have also liked had he cared to look, there are a number of galleries worth your time:

• Berlinische Galerie, Kreuzberg - visual arts and architecture created in Berlin
• Bröhan-Museum, Charlottenburg - focuses on Art Nouveau and Art Déco
• Das Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung normally in Tiergarten but temporarily sited in Charlottenburg during renovations of the main building - the world's largest collection dedicated to Bauhaus

Hire a motorcycle or scooter

See Berlin as Tintin saw it! Only at a slower pace. And without stealing your ride. And in a city that, 90 years on, is almost unrecognisable.

In Germany, scooters and some motorbikes can be rode by anyone over the age of 18 in possession of a valid driving licence, though some more powerful bikes have higher minimum age limits (typically 25) and may require specialist licences.

• 2 Miet me, Schloßstraße 57, Steglitz-Zehlendorf (U-Bahn U9 or S-Bahn S1/S2 to Rathaus Steglitz), ☏ +49 30 7900959, info@mietme.de. M-F 07:00-19:00. BMW motorcycles for hire, which you can take out of the city to test their power and speed. Schloßstraße leads directly onto federal highway B1, which heads into central Berlin. Also present at other locations around Greater Berlin: Hindenburgdamm in the same district, plus in Adlershof, Schönefeld, and Teltow. From €89 per day, €229 per weekend, €409 per week. (updated Oct 2019)

• 3 scooter2go, Oranienburger Straße 27, Mitte (S-Bahn / tram: Oranienburger Straße (S1, S2, S25, S26, 12, M1, M5, M8), U-Bahn: Oranienburger Tor (U6)), ☏ +49 30 44044600, mail@scooter2go.de. M-Sa 10:00-19:00, Su 10:00-14:30. Scooters (Vespa, Django, Derbi etc) for hire. Not strictly the type of vehicle Tintin rode, but cheaper and more practical for city exploration. You are limited to a 25 km radius around Berlin. From €24 per day, €49 per weekend, €130 per week, plus €150 refundable deposit. (updated Oct 2019)

Indonesia

On a refueling stop in Jakarta on their way to Sydney, Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus chance upon......

In the 1950s, Qantas flew travelers from London to Sydney (reference: Kangaroo Route) with Singapore being one of the two overnight stops. The illustrations of the airport's tapered control tower and waiting area (long benches and wall mural) could be inspired by the old Paya Lebar Airport (photographic references), as well as its predecessor, Kallang Airport. Fly to Singapore Changi Airport to experience how essential a break was back in those days before heading off to any regional islands for a walk in the jungle!

Allan and Rastapopoulos find themselves standing suddenly right in front of a proboscis monkey. A proboscis monkey? This is a large monkey equipped with a particularly impressive nose. This nose reminds Allan of someone he knows?

Places to check out the proboscis monkey:

Singapore Zoo, 80 Mandai Lake Rd, Singapore 729826. (updated Jan 2019) - National Geographic references

Pulau Kaget Nature Reserve. (updated Jan 2019)

Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. (updated Jan 2019)

Italy

Just for opera

Russia

“ Soviet goon: All around this place are immense, empty steppes, almost impassable. As for you, you've penetrated our secret, so you will be killed...
...tomorrow, at dawn. ”

—The first of many, many villains to make this mistake.

Entering by train

A warm welcome into the bistro car was all Snowy ever wanted from his travels.

At the start of their very first adventure, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (Tintin au pays des Soviets, 1929), Tintin and Snowy catch the train from Brussels to Berlin. While this service no longer exists in its direct form, the 21st-century traveller can cover the same distance much faster than Tintin ever could in the 1920s, with a Deutsche Bahn high-speed rail journey via Cologne possible to accomplish in under seven hours.

Incredibly, the train our young hero intends to take next - from Berlin to Moscow, via Poland and Belarus - is still running to this day, in fact some journeys start even further west in Paris! Operated by Russian Rail three to four times a week, the 23-hour ride from Berlin Hauptbahnhof or Ostbahnhof to Moscow Belorussky is understandably a sleeper service. Tickets can cost anything from around €230 to €850, according to the class of service you're prepared to fork out for. The train originating in Berlin (called the Strizh, which departs from Ostbahnhof) is slightly faster and newer, but somehow the service and space available are inferior to what is available on board the Paris-originating train, which calls at Hauptbahnhof. The cheapest compartments sleep four, with eight compartments to a carriage, while "VIP 1st class" compartments have berths for two, a private bathroom, entertainment and air conditioning. A restaurant and bistro car are also available, though both food and drink are quite expensive extras.

As Tintin himself discovered, the admin can be a bit of a headache and depending on your nationality you may need up to three visas - for Russia, the Schengen area, and a Belarusian transit visa which is necessary even if you never so much as open the window while crossing Belarus. Oh, and be sure to take along a Tintin album or three for the ride: as the boy wonder remarked, the train mostly passes through quite dreary country.

Moscow is one helluva well-connected city by rail, and there are numerous alternatives for a train journey from Europe, some of which offer certain advantages over the Berlin-Moscow, notably better scenery and avoiding travel through Belarus. Of course, if you've really got the train travel bug, the Russian capital is the starting point for all Trans-Siberian Railway routes east across the vast former USSR.

Moscow

Moscow - though not much is recognisable other than a single frame with St Basil's.

Any museums of the 1920s Soviet era? Or about the treatments of the Kulaks?

Switzerland

There's a Tintin tour of Nyon, apparently

Tibet

Should this be under China?

South American banana republics

Bolivia and Paraguay - W:Chaco war

United States

"What's all this?... It's an odd sort of way to welcome a stranger!" - Tintin in Redskin City

Visit the Red Willow people at Taos Pueblos in New Mexico - it is the only living Native American community that is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark. Take a walk around the village and you might learn that the Tanoan language is passed down generation after generation without any written form. To fully experience their culture and feathered-costume tribal dance, check out their Pow Wow celebrations.

While you are in New Mexico, you don't have to "borrow" a train as like Tintin

The Rail Runner trains run daily to and fro Albuquerque and Santa Fe at an inexpensive price. The train journey is about 1.5 hours and you get a feel of vast lands with mountains at a distance. Interestingly, the train beeps exactly like the Road Runner cartoon character.

For a more authentic steam locomotive ride, check out the scenic railroad experience.

The ocean and desert islands

(incl. ships) According to W:Red Rackham's Treasure, RRT is set in the Caribbean. To verify.

Themed attractions

(e.g. the Hergé Museum)

Rocket in Brussels Airport. Still there?

• 10 Belgian Comic Strip Centre (Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, Belgisch Centrum van het Beeldverhaal), Rue des Sables—Zandstraat 20 (Brussels/Pentagon), ☏ +32 2 219-1980, visit@comicscenter.net. Daily 10:00—18:00. Tintin's quiff features in the logo of this fun museum, which is housed in an impressive art-deco building. There is a permanent exhibition featuring the early beginnings and development of comics, and enough room for other temporary exhibitions. The bookshop on the ground floor sells many different comics. A readers' library operates on the ground floor, where, for a small entrance fee, you can read many different comic books and buy fries. Adults €10, seniors 65+ years €8, students 12-25 years €7, children under 12 €3.50. (updated Jan 2019)

Learn

French phrasebook

The made up languages?

Tintinology?

Buy

various Tintin shops

See also

• Fiction tourism
• Around the world in 80 days