Walks - FOUR CONTRASTS IN A ROW
Saint-Josse, Ixelles
On the east side of the Brussels city centre, just outside the area known as the ‘Pentagon’, several very diverse city neighbourhoods are located within walking distance of each other. The old village centres of Saint-Josse and Ixelles along the flanks of the Maalbeek valley were swallowed up by the 19th-century urban expansion, with the construction of the Leopold Quarter and the Quartier des Squares.
This walk brings together four contrasts: the centre of Saint-Josse, Belgium’s most populous municipality with its extremely diverse population; the prestigious Quartier des Squares with its ponds and art nouveau; the European institutions in the Leopold Quarter; and finally the lively Matongé district in Ixelles.
If you don’t have 3.5 hours, consider combining two or three of these contrasting areas.