Welcome to Ixelles
Ixelles is one of the capital's most interesting and exciting outer areas, with a diverse street-life and café scene. Historically something of a cultural crossroads, Ixelles has long drawn artists, writers and intellectuals – Karl Marx, Auguste Rodin and Alexandre Dumas all lived here – and today it retains an arty, sometimes Bohemian feel. Ixelles is divided into two by avenue Louise, named after the eldest daughter of its creator, King Léopold II, and home to the haute bourgeoisie ever since it was laid out in the 1840s. The avenue's beginnings are lined by some of the city's most expensive hotels, shops and boutiques and further along is the enjoyable Musée Constantin Meunier, sited in the sculptor's old house.
More than anything else, however, it's the superb range of Art Nouveau buildings clustering the streets of Ixelles and neighbouring St-Gilles which really grab the attention. Many of the finest examples are concentrated on and around the boundary between the two communes – in between chaussée de Charleroi and avenue Louise and Here you'll find Horta's own house, now the glorious Musée Horta, one of the few Art Nouveau buildings in the country fully open to the public, as well as examples of the work of Paul Hankar. Also check out rue Defacqz, which is the site of several charming Art Nouveau houses.
What to see:
The buildings of the Abbey of la Cambre house a renowned school for the visual arts, the National Geographic Institute, and various parish functions.
The Ixelles Ponds and Tenbosch Park offer a welcome green spot in the middle of the city.
The Art Deco building on the Flagey square used to house the studios of the Belgian radio and television broadcasting companies (RTBF and VRT). The Résidence de la Cambre is another notable Art Deco building.
Several Art Nouveau houses were built by Victor Horta and can still be seen today.
Two universities—the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel—have their campuses in Ixelles. As a result, the southeast part of the municipality is home to a large number of students.
The Ixelles Cemetery is one of the most important cemeteries in the country as it contains the graves of a number of famous Belgian personalities. The French General Georges Boulanger committed suicide here, on the tomb of his mistress, who had died a couple of months earlier.
Ixelles also houses several interesting churches and museums, including a fine-arts museum and the Constantin Meunier museum, established in the residence where the artist lived part of his life.
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