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Leuven what to see in one day?
Here is a proposal for an incredible day
Leuven what to see in one day? Leuven what to do? Leuven what to visit? Without a doubt a great dilemma! There is so much to see, do, tour and enjoy in this beautiful beer, university capital city full of abbeys and places to visit that it is difficult to choose a perfect plan for just one day. The truth is that if we have to recommend something, it is that you enjoy a minimum of two days in this great city, just as we recommended Bruges or Ghent or Brussels.
On a route through Belgium in a motorhome we discover Flanders and specifically its cities, towns, natural parks and most charming castles. We also discovered Belgium with children, with our children, and with our dog Max, a family trip that will be hard to forget.
Leuven Belgium, without a doubt, is one of the most essential destinations if you are going to visit Belgium. Leuven is the beer capital and university capital of Belgium but also a city with a lot of history and charm with many corners and places to visit.
Leuven has a thousand plans, activities, monuments and places to visit. It is difficult to choose a plan. That is why I propose what we would do in Leuven in one day, choosing from all that we lived there within our route through Belgium.
In addition, in this article you will also find the details of where to eat and where to sleep if you go to Leuven by motorhome or you go to Leuven by campervan. But in Leuven you will find a thousand hotels to stay.
Come on, let's discover this beautiful university city and of good beer!
To start ... 2 maxims
1 Know a minimum about Belgium. We make it easy for you, here is a mini basic guide about Belgium and Leuven city
Get to know the language spoken in Belgium Leuven, where is Leuven to find out how to get to Leuven, learn to say thank you in Flemish, discover what is the typical food of Belgium and Leuven city and have a minimum knowledge about Belgium and Leuven with this mini practical guide. We make it easy for you.
2 Getting around by bike, a must to enjoy Belgium and Leuven
To move around Belgium freely and enjoy it, you have to bring your bike or rent one. Without a doubt, it is an essential that transforms the trip. Getting around Belgium Leuven by bike is easy, safe and comfortable. Thousands of flat bike lanes safeguarded from traffic make you explore the city, its beautiful parks and its thousand corners in an agile, fun and very safe way.
And in Leuven if you don't have your own bike you are lucky, there are many places that will rent it to you and for a very reasonable price. Visit this Leuven tourism website to see some places where you can rent a bike in Belgium Leuven.
Belgium Leuven: what to see in one day as a travel program. We can't make it easier for you
Here are our suggestions of what to see in one day in Leuven city of Belgium. In other words, we will see the essential Leuven, which for us are the most beautiful and surprising places in Belgium Leuven.
One of the articles we have done about our roadtrip of 16 essential destinations in Belgium
FIRST HOUR IN THE MORNING. We take off from the center of the city: Leuven town hall, the oldest library in Europe, the square with the longest beer bar in the world, etc ...
It's 9 a.m. and we started the tour of Leuven with joy. A route that will exhaust us as good travelers, but with which we will enjoy the beauty.
Our route will be by bicycle if possible, so we can fully enjoy the city and move more quickly.
The first thing we are going to do is go to the center of Leuven to its Tourist office, just behind the Town Hall and Leuven Cathedral.
Here we will ask for a map and solve our doubts.
From the Tourist Office we will go to visit the City Hall of Leuven, the jewel in the crown of this city. The Leuven Town Hall is a 236th century Gothic monument, known throughout Belgium for its reliquary form and its more than XNUMX statuettes representing famous people of the city. Guided tours can be done in Spanish.
In front of the town hall of Leuven, we have the impressive Church of St. Peter of Leuven which houses great works of art by early Flemings. Dirk Bouts' Last Supper is one of the most famous.
From here we will stroll through the center to Leuven University Library. Historic place being one of the oldest libraries in Europe.
And from the library we are going to make a beer in the square Oude Mark in Leuven, the longest bar in Europe.
Finally, we take our bikes and go to see the university campus of the University of Leuven in all its splendor up to the XNUMXth century Arenberg Castle that today houses the faculty of architecture.
Keep going through the parks of the university campus of the University of Leuven
Leuven what to visit? Well, you see that things are not lacking. For now, focus on seeing this university campus and the surroundings of the Arenberg castle and gardens. In themselves they are worth it. Stroll until lunchtime.
TIME TO EAT. Play a picnic nap to college
And both walking and walking whets your appetite. It is time to eat and rest a bit, while we return to the guide and prioritize what to continue watching. Remember that you are in Belgium Leuven, here you eat between 12 and 13 hours. And even if you don't like it, I recommend that you eat at that time. Why? Well, because at 17:XNUMX p.m. they close everything, so you better eat now and take advantage of the afternoon, you will appreciate it later.
LOVAINA WHERE TO EAT
Well, looking at our proposal is to have a picnic in one of the parks on the university campus. A great plan of relaxation, rest and surrounded by nature. Also on the lawn you can end up giving a nice nap.
AN ENTERTAINING AFTERNOON, the bike route through the Abbeys of Leuven and the World Heritage Beguinage of Leuven
From the university campus we set out on our way to the Abbey of the Park, 10 minutes away by bike, to follow part of the abbeys route by bike. A very cool 14-kilometer cycling route where you can see the 4 abbeys that are home to Leuven and four renowned beer bars and restaurants. In conclusion, a great plan. Abbeys with brewing history and where today you can also stop to refresh yourself with a good craft beer in its surrounding restaurants and bars.
After seeing the Abbey of the Park, next to a beautiful, very photogenic lake and with cycling routes around it, we go to the other three Abbeys that are north of the city. But first we had a beer in the bar-restaurant at the entrance and bought some organic beers and juices in the little shop in front of the Abbey.
Let’s continue...
We continue the path of the abbeys bike route but with two stops before.
First we will stop to see the large beguinage and then we will stop at the Botanical Garden of Leuven.
The Great Beguinage of Leuven is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a place that is very worth discovering. A small town within the city of Leuven itself. Low brick houses between churches, convents, gardens, squares, canals and bridges. All silent, full of peace.
Almost 300 Beguines or pious women lived here among its 81 little houses. Most single women, widows or orphans who, without being of any religious order, lived by vowing chastity and obedience. They were spiritual and helped parishes, convents, or churches while making a living embroidering, sewing, or being teachers or nurses.
Now there are foreign professors and university students, but until 1980 they lived pious. The essence of silence is still alive, you can see posters begging for that peace as before.
WE CONTINUE WITH THE AFTERNOON- NIGHT. Botanical garden and we continue with the route of the abbeys to the water games of the neighborhood where the first Estella Artois beer was born
We continue on the bike route through the Abbeys of Leuven, but this time we stop to see the Botanical Garden of Leuven, the oldest in Belgium and with more than 800 species of plants from all over the world. It was the botanical garden of the university, which is now municipal.
The truth is that it has surprised us, because of how beautiful and great it is. It is worth the stop.
And after seeing the botanical garden, we continue going up to the north of the city where we will find the rest of the abbeys of Leuven that we can visit or walk around. First we find the small Abbey of Geertrui, near the small beguinage and later on the top of a small mountain the Keizesberg Abbey with quite large gardens where you can walk.
Now we go a little further down towards the port, where apart from seeing it and seeing its boats, we will see the bohemian atmosphere of an old industrial neighborhood converted today into a cultural neighborhood of the city.
With the kids we go to the restaurant Hoor, where the first Stella Artois, the great Belgian international beer, was created. Right in front there is a water play area where the little ones have a blast and where the older ones cool off a bit.
TIME TO DINNER. Play a delicious dinner, don't miss having dinner at the bar-restaurant that saw the birth of the first Estella Artois beer
And how could it be otherwise, we decided to dine at the Hoor restaurant, where the first Stella Artois was created and where today you can eat super well for a reasonable price. The truth is that the food and views from its terrace to the river and aquatic children's play area is unbeatable.
We definitely recommend it to have a total experience in Leuven.
And from there we can go to see the last abbey on the route and have a last beer in Leuven. Definitely a round day.
Leuven by camper van
Leuven by motorhome is easy as the Leuven camper motorhome area has an excellent private area, which belongs to the Kessel-lo swimming pools. It is worth € 15 for 24 hours and has all services, including electricity.
It is 10 minutes by bike path from the center of Leuven. And right next to it you have the Kessel-lo lake, where you can watch birds in wooden houses or where you can go to its pool with slides to soak in or where you can play in its playgrounds.
Leuven Belgium photo gallery
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