What to see in Leuven

Leuven (Leuven) is the university town Belgium par excellence, and despite not being one of the most famous for tourists on the route through the country, as is the case with Bruges o GhentWe found it to have a lot of charm and we really liked the atmosphere.

If you are hesitating about whether Leuven is worth a visit on your Belgian tour, read on to discover the sites we consider a must-see what to see in Leuven in one day. And if you have already decided on it, don't miss our walking route (or by bike) along the same road that you will be able to open and follow with google maps. In addition, we also tell you about the best places to eat in Leuven in this article.

As a recommendation for visiting Leuven in one day, the best thing to do is to rent a bicycle as there are certain points that are a little further away from the center. We did it and we really enjoyed the experience, we tell you how to do it easily at the end of the article!

1. Grote Markt

The MARKET PLACE of Leuven is one of the essential places to visit in the city, since it is home to two of the most characteristic buildings: the City Hall and the Church of San Pedro.

There are also a multitude of bars and terraces where you can have a drink with stunning views of these two buildings. If you go near christmas You will see that in the square they set up some wooden huts where you can enter to drink beer, and also decorate the square with Christmas motifs, all full of Christmas trees with lights, decorative deer, etc.. Very nice.

2. Leuven City Hall

This gothic building The 15th-century museum, located on the Grote Markt, is a real marvel and one of the most beautiful places to see in Leuven. It impresses with its three-story facade with its spectacular collection of 236 statues its gothic windows and its entrance staircase.

If you would like to visit it, every day at 3 pm there is a guided tour. It is the only way to access the town hall and enjoy an interesting visit that lasts about an hour. Inside you will find an incredible collection of works of art and several rooms of the nineteenth century. The price is 4€.

🎄 Be careful if you are in Leuven in December.
If you go at Christmas time you will find the town hall spectacularly decorated with lights, it is impressive!

St. Peter's Church

This is the gothic church The most important of the city and is located in the Grotemarkt, right in front of the town hall. The first thing that will catch your attention is the unfinished bell tower is World Heritage Site! It was supposed to be the tallest bell tower of its time, 170 meters high, but in the end it was never finished. Although it is unfinished, we believe that it gives a special and unique touch to the church.

Inside are two masterpieces of art: the Last Supper and the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus. To see them, the visiting hours are every day from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, except Wednesdays when it is closed. The entrance fee is free.

4. The University Library (Universiteits bibliotheek en bibliotheektoren)

Continuing with the most important places to visit in Leuven, we recommend that you go to the university library located in Laudezeplein. Leuven being the university town Belgium's most important building, it's no wonder it has such an impressive library building.

As a curiosity, the library of neo-Renaissance style has been rebuilt several times since it was first burned down in World War I and then bombed in World War II. Today, it houses more than one million books and has become the most emblematic symbol of the University of Leuven.

You cannot miss the opportunity to enter and visit its interior. The reading room is impressive (although you can't walk through it at your leisure, as there are people studying) and, in addition, you can go up to the library tower to get the best views of the city. The combined ticket costs 7€.

5. Ladeuzeplein Square

In this large square is the famous university library that we told you about before and the Totem sculpture a needle of more than 20 meters with a beetle nailed to the tip, super curious!

In addition, if you are lucky enough to visit Leuven for a Friday you will find in this square a flea market with lots of products, from flowers, to fresh produce such as meat or fish, and of course, clothes. We always love to find flea markets, but this time we were not lucky.

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6. Oude Markt

This square is the perfect place to enjoy the student environment and the terraces in Leuven. It is known as "the longest bar in the world", why? Well, because in good weather there are so many terraces and so many people sitting in the square that it looks like a huge bar.

This beautiful square is surrounded by classic style buildings rebuilt after World War II. The most curious thing is that most of these houses have a bar on the first floor. Just imagine, more than 40 bars to enjoy Belgian craft beer. Best of all, as Leuven is a university city, you will be able to find places with much cheaper beer than in the rest of Belgium's cities.

Some of the most famous bars are the Café Belge and the Barvista but in any of the other bars you are just as comfortable. We sat randomly in one of the terraces where there were stoves, blankets (when we went there it was cool) and people and we were delighted!

7. The Great Beaterio

The Great Leuven Beguine Beguine is an impressive 13th century complex located on the banks of the Dijle river and has been declared a World Heritage Site. It is one of the most curious places to see in Leuven and its streets will transport you directly to medieval times.

The beaterios were areas where the Beguines lived, single women who led a life in accordance with the principles of Christianity. This one in particular surprised us very much by its size, it looks like a mini-village within Leuven there are more than 100 houses!

Although nowadays it is used as a student housing and professors of the University of Leuven, it still preserves the original structure and maintains its medieval charm. Strolling through the Great Beguinage is like stepping into a haven of peace. We were practically alone touring the place.

8. Arenberg Castle and Park (Arenbergkasteel)

This mega park and the castle The rooms inside are a bit far from the center, but for us it is worth the visit, we loved it. As we mentioned at the beginning, this is one of the points for which it comes in handy to have a bicycle.

The park, which belongs to the campus of the University of Leuven, is so large that there are areas where it feels like you are in the middle of a forest. It is a immense green environment The area is full of sports facilities and paths surrounded by vegetation.

We recommend that you wander through the park at your leisure until you reach the Arenberg Castle The site is a neo-Gothic castle from the 19th century where the Faculty of Engineering Sciences of the Catholic University of Louvain is currently located.

If the weather is good, you will see the locals making picnic everywhere and a multitude of students.

9. Keizersberg Abbey Park (Park van de Abdij van Keizersberg)

This park is one of the best places to visit in Leuven to have a great time breathtaking views of the city, since it is located on a hill. We have to say that if you go by bike you have a good climb, so be prepared before arriving.

You will also find here the Keizersberg Abbey together with its gardens, part of which is used as a student residence. This abbey has a fortified wall and a statue of seven meters from the Virgin Mary The city of Leuven, which overlooks the hill and the entire city of Leuven from one of its Leuven's best viewpoints.

We had the bad luck to find the area under construction, so you could not get very close to the edge and the views were not the best.

10. Stella Artois Factory

One of the best things to do in Leuven, and in Belgium in general, is to visit one of the most important brewery. Leuven is home to the brewery of one of our favorite Belgian beers, Stella Artois.

A very important fact is that they only make visits on the following days weekends and are in Dutch or in English. The schedule is as follows:

• Saturday: 13:00 NL | 15:00 and 17:00 EN
• Sunday: 13:00 NL & 15:00 EN

We didn't know about it when we went and we couldn't go, but we still wanted to. The visit is 14€ and includes a visit with explanation of the different procedures, Stella Artois tasting and a complimentary bottle of beer.

11. Sculptures

Scattered around the city there is one thing that we found super curious, multitude of sculptures with different meanings, you have to be attentive! It is very easy to miss them. Some of the most famous and coolest are:

• Fons Sapientiae or Fountain of Wisdom Popularly known as Fonske and represents a student acquiring knowledge. That is why he appears reading a book and letting his wisdom enter his head in the form of water.
  • Location: near Grote Markt.
• Kotmadam The "Leuven": represents the former landladies of the student apartments in Leuven.
  • Location Oude Markt square.
• Totem Needle with a jewel beetle stuck on the tip. According to its author, it represents the memory of nature as opposed to the human memory.
  • Location: Ladeuzeplein.
• Erasmus in honor of Erasmus of Rotterdam.
  • Location A small street near St. Peter's Church.
• Friendship Balloon hot air balloon carrying 3 people and a dog.
  • Location: Ladeuzeplein.

12. M-museum

If you still have time left in the city and you are an art lover, this museum is one of your must-sees in Leuven. It is located in a very original building, combining modern architecture with classical touches in the old town.

Inside, you will be able to enjoy several exhibits displaying works from different periods. From paintings and sculptures of the late gothic to contemporary works and 19th century, there is a wide variety of artistic styles to discover. The visiting hours is from Thursday to Tuesday, from 11:00 to 18:00.

The museum building has been recently remodeled by one of Belgium's most famous architects. Even if you don't have time to go inside, as we did, it's worth it just to take a look at his striking facade.

📍 Map to visit Leuven in one day (route).

As we told you at the beginning of this article, we decided to rent a bicycle as soon as you leave the train station to be able to visit all the areas of the city without any problem and have plenty of time to enjoy Leuven.

The day we were there it was cold but it was clear so it was worth it. If you want to rent a bike you have to go to the bike parking lot of the station, there you will find Blue Bike The app works all over Belgium, or if you are not registered with the application you can rent bikes in a local who works there.

Location of the bike rental store

Then, either by bike or on foot you can start touring the city following this route with all the points that we told you above. You just have to click on the map below and it will open in Google Maps. In addition, if you have less time or you want to modify You will be able to do it at some point of the route without any problem.

If you want to read other articles ideal for your trip that complement What to see in Leuven you can visit our posts about Belgium.