Ixelles/Elsene: Culture, walks and family experiences

Ixelles/Elsene brings together special places for walks, art, music and shared discoveries. Those planning a trip with different daily rhythms will find both nature and history experiences as well as museums and cultural spaces here. When looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Ixelles/Elsene, you can therefore consider whether walks, culture or activities with children should be the focus of your trip.

Walks among water, trees and history

The Étangs d’Ixelles form a walking area as an extension of the gardens of the Abbaye de La Cambre. The ponds have been protected since 1976 and give the area a distinct landscape character. In addition, Ixelles offers three discovery walks focusing on remarkable trees. Each of these three walks includes ten remarkable trees. This allows you to focus your exploration on a specific theme without devoting the entire day exclusively to a museum or exhibition.

The Cimetière d’Ixelles also combines nature and history: the grounds offer a walk through 15 hectares. Remarkable funerary monuments were designed there by architects such as Horta and Delune. For visitors who would like to combine historic architecture with time spent outdoors, this place offers another perspective on Ixelles/Elsene.

La Cambre and museums for art enthusiasts

The Abbaye de La Cambre was founded in the 13th century. The partially preserved medieval buildings include a Gothic church dating from 1362. The Abbaye de La Cambre, renovated several times, and its gardens also serve as a representative setting for the École nationale des arts visuels and the Institut géographique national. This place therefore brings together religious history, architecture and present-day institutions.

The Musée Meunier Museum houses the former home and studio of Constantin Meunier (1831–1905). The works exhibited there trace his development between 1875 and 1905. The Musée van Elsene, in turn, offers a comprehensive overview of Belgian art from the end of the 19th century to the present day. The collection includes a remarkable poster collection, including the complete series of lithographs by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Important for planning your trip: the Musée van Elsene is currently closed for renovation and expansion. The reopening is scheduled to take place from 19 to 21 March 2027 during a festive weekend. For a stay before this period, you can therefore make other cultural destinations in Ixelles/Elsene the focus of your trip.

Music, visual arts and discoveries with children

Flagey is a Brussels cultural institution dedicated to music and visual arts. It hosts concerts featuring classical, contemporary, jazz and traditional music; it also offers space for cinema and video. The cultural venue comprises five halls of different sizes and functions, each with distinctive acoustic properties. This makes Flagey a destination for a range of cultural interests without requiring you to limit your trip to a single type of music.

The Musée des Enfants offers a 600 m² screen-free exhibition for children aged 3 to 12. The exhibitions are fully interactive and provide a playful, creative and participatory experience for children, parents and grandparents. For families, this offering can form an independent focus for a day, while other travellers can devote more of their time to art, architecture or walks.

More special places and practical orientation

The Musée Wiertz Museum is dedicated to the painter, sculptor and writer Antoine Wiertz (1806–1865). His impressive studio was built in 1850 at the expense of the Belgian state. The Jardin des Citoyens also contains an artificial ruin of the Temple of Paestum in Italy, as well as statues of important European philosophers and artists.

To reach Villa Empain, you can take tram lines 25 and 8 to the Solbosch stop or bus 71 to the Université Libre de Bruxelles stop. Such specific transport information helps you structure your excursion planning before choosing accommodation. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Ixelles/Elsene, you can use your preferred travel rhythm as a guide: peaceful walks, historic buildings, Belgian art, music or an interactive offering for children.

More places for orientation

For your further destination search, you can also consider Watermael-Boitsfort/Watermaal-Bosvoorde, Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode/Sint-Joost-Ten-Node, Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek, Brussels, Uccle/Ukkel, Laeken, Forest and Anderlecht.

For the overarching travel overview: Brussels-Capital Region.