Art de Séjour is located on the Porte Saint-Jacques, the south-west corner of the first walls of Brussels that were erected in the early 13th century.
The city was growing rapidly and in 1356, the constructions of the the second walls of Brussels were started.
The first walls were dismantled in the successive century.
Only a few remainder of the first walls exist today. For instance, the Tour de l’Angle, that is located 450 meters (475 yards) from Art de Séjour.
The river Zenne crosses the center of Brussels.
In the 19th century the river was covered and boulevards were built on top of it.
When you look at old maps you can see that the river Zenne was forming two small islands.
A large one at St-Gery and a small one where Art de Séjour stands today (see yellow star).