The Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein was a central feature of the Leopold Quarter, a neighbourhood developed in the first few decades after the Belgian Revolution, and the most prestigious residential area in the capital for the bulk of the 19th century.

Designs changed frequently, amidst much legal and political wrangling, but ultimately the tracks of the previously open air station were covered over by the flagstone mall that is now seen outside the European Parliament.

[5] In recent years, the Place du Luxembourg has become a hotspot for after-work nightlife activity in the European Quarter, primarily on Thursday and Friday nights.

The trash left on the square by the Thursday night revellers has become an irritant for local residents,[4] and Brussels politicians have threatened to shut down the party.

[6] In February 2024, the John Cockerill Monument was vandalised during a farmers' protest that took place in front of the European Parliament, with the statue of the mechanic Beaufort being severely damaged and burned.

[10] In the centre of the square is the Monument to John Cockerill, a prominent British-Belgian 19th-century industrialist, by the sculptor Armand Cattier [fr], which is a near copy of the statue outside Seraing's Town Hall in Liège Province (Wallonia).

In plans to rebuild parts of the European Quarter, the Place du Luxembourg would become one of three main pedestrian squares, each focusing on a different theme.

[15] In 2011, plans were announced in partnership between the municipality of Ixelles and the Parliament to try to reduce the "mess" left by revellers on busy nights, which the local authority deemed to be "totally unacceptable.

This would include a new lawn, four majestic trees (magnolias grandiflora) and perennial beds, in line with the square's design dating back to the 1850s.

Local residents from the Association du Quartier Léopold would like to see the historical listing of the neoclassical facades and the station extended to the entire square.