Historic centre
First-timersAround the Grote Markt and the Oude Markt: the town hall, the library, the bars and everything worth seeing.
Leuven city guide
Things To Do In Leuven
A university town since 1425, with a town hall covered in 236 statues, the world's biggest brewer on the edge of it, and a square locals call the longest bar in Europe.
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Hostels in the city
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1425
The university founded
236
Statues on the town hall
50,000
Students in a city of 100,000
Half the city is students, and it shows
Leuven has 50,000 students in a population of 100,000, and the oldest Catholic university still operating anywhere, founded in 1425. Everything about the place follows from that: the prices, the volume, and a centre that empties out entirely in July and August.
The Oude Markt is a single square lined end to end with bars, which the city bills as the longest bar in Europe and which is very hard to argue with on a Thursday in term time.
The town hall is the sight — a fifteenth-century Brabantine Gothic building carrying 236 statues in tiers, looking more like a reliquary than a civic office.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest brewing company in the world, is headquartered here and Stella Artois has been brewed in the city since 1366.
A day, or a night if you want the square.
Where to stay
A small centre, and the station is ten minutes from it.
Around the station
Value and transportTen minutes east of the centre, with cheaper beds and fast trains to Brussels and the airport.
Beguinage and the south
QuietAround the UNESCO-listed Groot Begijnhof, a walled quarter of brick houses now used as student housing.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 2 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Leuven
The town hall takes ten minutes to look at and longer than that to take in: 236 statues in tiers across a fifteenth-century facade, added in the nineteenth century to niches that had stood empty for 400 years.
The Groot Begijnhof is a walled village of brick houses and cobbled lanes founded in the thirteenth century, UNESCO-listed, and now student accommodation — which means it is lived in rather than preserved.
The University Library was burned by German forces in 1914 and again in 1940, rebuilt both times with international donations, and you can climb the tower for the view and the carillon.
M Leuven is the city's art museum, and the Stella Artois brewery runs tours at about €15 that end with a beer poured to the nine-step ritual.
Free things
Free things to do in Leuven
The town hall facade, the Grote Markt and the Oude Markt cost nothing, and the first is among the best buildings in Belgium.
The Groot Begijnhof is free to walk through, and it is the quietest and prettiest part of the city.
St Peter's Church on the main square is free to enter, though the treasury with Dieric Bouts' Last Supper charges.
The Kruidtuin, Belgium's oldest botanical garden, dating to 1738, is free, and the Abdij van Park just outside the centre is a working abbey with grounds open to walk.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Leuven
Student prices, which after Bruges is a relief. A decent meal is €12 to €20 and there are plenty of places doing it for less.
Stella Artois is the local lager and has been brewed here since 1366, though most Belgians will point you at something more interesting from the same shelf.
Leuvense witbier and the local Domus brewery, which pipes its beer from the brewhouse to the taps, are the ones worth seeking.
The Muntstraat is a pedestrian street of restaurants covering most cuisines, and the covered market hall does cheap lunches.
Beer is €2.50 to €4, which is the lowest of any city in this guide to Belgium.
Nightlife
Going out in Leuven
The Oude Markt is the point: one square, lined on all four sides with bars, no cars, and in term time several thousand people drinking outside on a Thursday. The city calls it the longest bar in Europe and nobody disputes it seriously.
It runs late — many places to three or four — and it is overwhelmingly students, so prices are low and the atmosphere is young.
A beer is €2.50 to €4.
The important thing to know is the calendar: from July to September the students go home and the square is a quarter as busy. Term time is October to June, and exam periods in January and June quieten it too.
Getting around
Getting around Leuven
You walk. The centre is small enough to cross in fifteen minutes and is largely pedestrianised.
The station is ten minutes east on foot, with trains to Brussels in 25 minutes and Brussels Airport in 15 — which makes Leuven a genuinely good alternative base if the capital is full or expensive.
Antwerp is 45 minutes and Ghent an hour.
Bikes are the student transport and rental is cheap, though you will not need one in the centre.
Costs
What Leuven costs
The cheapest city in this guide to Belgium, because of the students. Dorms are €18 to €32, a beer €2.50 to €4, and a meal €12 to €20.
A day is €45 to €70.
Almost everything worth seeing — the town hall, the begijnhof, the squares, the botanical garden — is free. The brewery tour at €15 and M Leuven at about €12 are the only real entries.
As a base for Brussels it is worth doing the maths: beds here are often a third less and the airport is fifteen minutes away.
Safety
Staying safe in Leuven
Leuven is a safe, small city and the centre is busy and lit late in term time.
The Oude Markt on a term-time night is several thousand drunk students in one square — good-natured, and crowded enough that ordinary care about bags and drinks applies.
Bike theft is the most common crime, as in every Flemish student city.
Cyclists move fast through pedestrian areas and have the run of the place.
Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Leuven
Leuven is 25 minutes from the capital, which makes almost all of Belgium reachable.
Brussels
The capital, Art Nouveau, the Grand Place and the best beer bars in the country.
Mechelen
A cathedral tower you climb, a medieval centre, and Kazerne Dossin, the deportation memorial and museum.
Antwerp
Fashion, Rubens and the railway cathedral of a station.
Ghent
Medieval canals and the Van Eyck altarpiece.
What's on
What is on while you are there
The academic year is the calendar, plus one enormous student festival.
4 October
Spirituele Beurs Bloom Fair Leuven
Spirituele Beurs Bloom Fair Leuven invites you to a day filled with spirituality, personal growth, and well-being. You can explore workshops, lectures, and free…
Hostels
Where to stay in Leuven
A small scene at low prices, and a sensible alternative base for Brussels and its airport. Live from Hostelworld.
When to go
Term time, October to June. In July and August half the population is elsewhere.
Jan
Cold, and exam season means a quieter square
Feb
Term in full swing. Busy and cheap
Mar
Improving weather and a full city
Apr
Excellent. Terraces out, and the Hallerbos bluebells nearby
May
The best month. Warm, and the square is at its fullest
Jun
Exams then term ends. Emptying in the second half
Jul
Very quiet. Students gone, much of the nightlife shut
Aug
The quietest month of the year
Sep
Term restarts late in the month and the city refills
Oct
Excellent. Full city, decent weather
Nov
Grey but busy
Dec
Christmas market, and the students leave mid-month
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. The weather matters less here than the academic calendar — Leuven in August is a pretty, empty town, and in May it is one of the best nights out in Belgium.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Almost everything worth seeing here is free, which is why the doing line is low. Beer at €2.50–4 is the cheapest in Belgium.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Leuven travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is the Oude Markt really the longest bar in Europe?
It is one square with bars along all four sides and no cars, and on a term-time Thursday several thousand people are drinking outside on it. The claim is marketing, the effect is real.
When should I visit?
Term time, October to June. In July and August the students are gone and the city is a quarter as busy — pretty, but not the place people describe. Exam periods in January and June also quieten it.
How long do you need?
A day, or a night if you want the square. The town hall, the begijnhof and the library take a morning, and the evening is the reason to stay.
Is Leuven a good base for Brussels?
Yes, and an underrated one. Trains are 25 minutes to Brussels and 15 to the airport, and beds are often a third cheaper. If the capital is full or expensive, this is the move.
What is the town hall?
A fifteenth-century Brabantine Gothic building carrying 236 statues in tiers, added in the nineteenth century to niches that had been empty for four centuries. It is free to look at and it is the best building in the city.
Is it cheap?
The cheapest city in Belgium for visitors. Dorms €18 to €32, beer €2.50 to €4, and a day around €45 to €70, with most of the sights free.
Should I do the Stella Artois tour?
About €15 and booked ahead. Beer has been brewed on the site since 1366 and the tour ends with a pour done to the nine-step ritual. Worth it if you like breweries; Domus in the centre is more interesting if you like beer.
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