Ixelles - Elsene, Residential municipality in Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Description
Ixelles-Elsene is a residential municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium, partly split by the territory of the City of Brussels. The area includes residential quarters with buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries, main streets lined with shops and cafés, university campuses with lecture halls and libraries, and public parks with ponds and walking paths.
History
The name Elsela first appeared in a document from 1210 and comes from the Old Dutch word for alder woods that once surrounded the abbey of La Cambre. The municipality developed from the 19th century onward as a favored residential area for the middle class outside the old center of Brussels.
Culture
The Matongé quarter takes its name from a neighborhood in Kinshasa and hosts dozens of small shops selling fabrics, food and music from Central Africa. People from the Congolese community gather at street corners to talk while restaurants serve fufu and grilled fish.
Practical
Walking is a good way to explore the area, since many streets are accessible to pedestrians and the main points are close together. Student flows bring more life to the streets during the academic term, while the summer months feel quieter.
Did you know?
The Flagey building from the 1930s stands at the junction of two artificial ponds and was originally built to house the national radio institute. The Streamline Moderne structure now holds concert halls and a busy square where people meet on market days and during events.
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Cinquantenaire Park
2 km
Hôtel Tassel
682 m
Palace of Justice
1.1 km
Villa Empain
3.1 km
Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon
1.1 km
Horta Museum
1.3 km
Bois de la Cambre - Ter Kamerenbos
3 km
House of European History
1.1 km
Arc du Cinquantenaire
2 km
Hôtel Solvay
759 m
Egmont Palace
893 m
Place du Luxembourg
792 m
La Cambre Abbey
1.7 km
Art & History Museum
1.9 km
Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta
2.2 km
Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium
774 m
Leopold Park
1.1 km
Prison of Saint-Gilles
1.9 km
Parlamentarium
904 m
Parlamentarium
887 m
Brussels-Luxembourg railway station
743 m
The Hotel Brussels
825 m
Great Synagogue of Europe
1.1 km
Cauchie House
2.1 km
Autoworld
2 km
Leopold Quarter
684 m
Equestrian statue of Leopold Ⅱ
844 m
Athénée Robert Catteau
1.2 kmDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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