And all that jazz: the Louise neighbourhood

It’s probably no coincidence that Gyle Waddy lives off Avenue Louise, one of the best fashion streets in Brussels. In another life, the jazz singer and music teacher used to work as a model. Born in Philadelphia 69 years ago, he studied dance and theatre at the City College of Dance in Los Angeles and the Carnegie Hall School of Dance in New York before taking up work as a model to make ends meet. His career took him to Milan, where he worked for Versace and Valentino. In 1979, he moved to Brussels to live with his partner and a year later, he was featured as the first black model in women’s magazine Flair before going on to model for Antwerp fashion legend Walter Van Beirendonck. In 2000, Gyle and his partner Felix moved to a new place just off the Louise Square in an area known as ‘le goulet Louise’, or the Louise bottleneck, because of the traffic. “It’s a great apartment and I’ve just turned one of the rooms into my music studio, where I give singing classes.”

The prestigious Avenue Louise – named after King Leopold II’s oldest daughter – is about 3km long, and connects Louise Square all the way to the Bois de la Cambre. It was constructed in 1847 as a promenade, and while the first part of the Avenue is paved with nothing but expensive shops such as Louise 54, Max Mara and JM Weston, Gyle knows a few good places to get something to eat after working up an appetite shopping. “One of my favourite places to go is l’Atelier de Jean (20 Rue du Grand Cerf). It serves a lovely mix of French and Italian cuisine at a decent price. I’m particularly fond of its grilled fish. A few doors up, Restaurant JB is known for its typical Belgian food but it isn’t cheap.” However, the restaurant, run by Freddy Van Ruyskensvelde and his two sons since 1987, is worth a try for its sauces alone, even if the roast partridge, which is one of their specialities, will set you back €40. But not all the eating options in the area are so pricey. “One of my food sins is to take home some baked chicken from Hector’s (6 Avenue de la Toison d’Or ),” Gyle admits.

For other cheap eats, he suggests The Coffee Club (131 Rue de Stassart) where “they serve a lovely English and American breakfast. And for sandwiches and tea, we tend to go to La Crémerie de la Vache (6 Rue Jean Stas).” If you just want to stop for a drink, Gyle recommends the spacious Brasserie Poelaert (2 Rue des Quatres Bras). “I also like MacSweeney’s pub (26 Rue Jean Stas), with its cosy wooden compartments. Cocktail bar Mini Louise (3 Rue Jourdan) is great too.”

As an ex-model, Gyle still enjoys window shopping at the fancy boutiques in and around Avenue Louise. The area has recently seen a number of high-profile openings, including luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo (53 Boulevard de Waterloo), French fashion outlets Bel Air, Maje and Sud Express (all in the Louise Gallery), American hipster clothes store Urban Outfitters (6 Place Stéphanie), the newly renovated Senteurs d’Ailleurs with its high-end perfumes, potions and lotions (1A Place Stéphanie), and fresh handmade cosmetics shop Lush (52 Avenue Louise). “When I go shopping, though, I prefer to check out the DOD outlet stores (www.dod.be) in and around Avenue Louise. They have great stuff at reasonable prices.” Another shop in the area that Gyle is particularly fond of is cooking supply store Dille & Kamille (16 Rue Jean Stas). “I love cooking. Back in 1981 I even wrote a vegetarian cook book,” Gyle reveals. “It never got published, though – and I am no longer a vegetarian!”

As a musician with five albums in his catalogue (his latest, Tell Me the Meaning, is out now on Elyts Music and is available on iTunes), Gyle says he wishes there was more of a musical presence in the area. “Things used to be different though – there was the Golden Gate music club in the Louise shopping gallery,” he remembers. “And I also used to work as a choreographer for a strip club off Place Stéphanie. But the only musical reference I can think of now is multi-media shop Fnac (17 Avenue de la Toison d’Or).” But even if there aren’t any obvious sources of musical inspiration, the area itself remains quite special to Gyle. “There’s something liberating about the open space of the Louise and Stéphanie squares, and of course the vast view from Place Poelaert. The Egmont park with its lovely l’Orangerie tearoom next to The Hotel (38 Boulevard de Waterloo) is a fantastic green spot as well. You could almost forget that you are in one of the busiest areas of the city.”

Essential information

Property

Apartments on Avenue Louise are very spacious, and therefore quite pricey. Renting an apartment of 100m2 can easily cost €1,500 a month. And to buy, prices per square metre start at around €3,000, according to estate agents Agence O (www.ocestbeau.be)

Transport

Public transport is plentiful at the beginning of Avenue Louise. As well as Villo rental bikes, there’s a stop on metro lines 2 and 6, and tram lines 92, 94 and 97. Finding a parking spot isn’t easy, but there are a couple of underground car parks nearby

Meet the neighbours

A mix of affluent Belgians and Eurocrats with a bit of social housing mixed in, although not so many families as most of the properties have no garden

For more information

For shopping, eating, drinking and events on Avenue Louise, visit www.brusselslouise.be

In & Around Avenue Louise

Mac Sweeney's

Popular Irish pub offering raucous Saturday night fun and tasty Sunday morning breakfasts. 24 Rue Jean Stas

Showing off

Belgians are usually a discreet lot but some throw caution to the wind on Avenue Louise

Dille & Kamille

Only Brussels branch of the charming Dutch home store. 16 Rue Jean Stas

Urban outfitters

Hip American fashion store, selling not only clothes but also gadgets, books and vinyl records. 6 Place Stéphanie

L’Orangerie

For brunch, lunch or afternoon tea in the stunning surroundings of the Egmont Park. www.restaurationnouvelle.be

Gyle says: “From fancy boutiques to a photocopy shop, the area has got just about everything. It’s like a city centre away from the actual city centre of Brussels. I love the open space and the diversity of people. The traffic maze of the Louise roundabout and tunnel are a nightmare, though.”

Photos by Dieter Telemans