Having covered Ghent, Belgium, in a short photo essay in a previous post, I felt it necessary not to stop there, but to continue with another marvelous Belgian city. The medieval city of Leuven is yet another totally visit-worthy smaller city in Belgium.
Founded sometime in the 9th century, Leuven has a long and rich history and is home to quite the impressive selection of landmarks. For instance, this is where Belgium’s oldest university is located—the University of Leuven is renowned around the world. Additionally, Leuven is also the headquarters of the world’s largest brewery—AB InBev. Originated as the producer of Stella Artois, this gigantic brewery now brews one out of every three beers in the world! This includes major brands like Budweiser, Corona and Beck’s.
These two things alone should make it a city that you would want to visit. But when you add to that some of Europe’s most beautiful medieval buildings, a couple of endless shopping streets, a few UNESCO World Heritage Sites and several parks and gardens, you find yourself with an absolutely amazing city.
Visiting Leuven should be an activity on every traveler visiting Western Europe. It’s one of those places you don’t expect much from, but that will blow you off your socks completely.
Hopefully, I can inspire you guys to consider visiting Leuven some day with these ten Leuven photos. I’ve studied there myself and have visited the city many times later on as well—I know what I’m talking about when I say that this is a fabulous city. Also, importantly, the old city center, where most of the attractions are located, is very, very compact and can be explored on foot in just one day.
10 Wonderful Leuven Photos
Leuven lies no more than 20 kilometers from Brussels , the capital and transportation hub of Belgium. You can commute between the two cities easily by train or bus—a trip shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes. This bustling city has its fair share of accommodations as well. Finding a hotel in Leuven won’t be a problem!
