ICAME 33 :: Travel Information

A note on "Leuven"

As you may know, Belgium is linguistically and politically a complicated country, and in a small way travelling to Leuven reflects the country's permanent state of identity crisis. The city you will be travelling to is called "Leuven" in Dutch, and "Louvain" in French; within the English-speaking world the French name is often used. There is a danger of confusion with another city, called Louvain-la-Neuve (French for "the new Leuven"), located around 30 km southeast of Leuven, in the French-speaking part of Belgium. When selecting a train or GPS destination, make sure to opt for Leuven, not Louvain-la-Neuve or even Louvain, to avoid ending up in the wrong city altogether.

Arrival by plane

Brussels Airport

Most people travelling by plane will arrive at Brussels Airport, where a train station is situated below ground level (level -1). Direct trains leave for Leuven twice per hour on weekdays with a 13 or 16 minute travel time; the standard (2nd class) fare is EUR 5.40. The train to board will have either Leuven or Landen as its final destination. You can look up train timetables and itineraries, entering 'Brussel Nat Luchthaven' and 'Leuven' as departure and arrival cities, from the Belgian Railways site. From Leuven train station, you can take a taxi to wherever you will be going first on your arrival -- presumably your hotel. The fare will probably be around 10 euros.

If you prefer to take a taxi from Brussels Airport directly to your hotel in Leuven, expect a rather steep fare, probably not less than 70 euros (1 euro equals roughly 1.4 USD, 0.87 GBP, 9.2 CNY, or 115 JPY).

Brussels South Charleroi Airport

A number of low-cost carriers fly to a regional airport in Charleroi, around 46 km south of Brussels. Getting to Leuven from Charleroi is less straightforward:

• One option is to take a local bus into the Charleroi Sud train station (travel time around 20 minutes), from where you can take a train to Leuven (travel time between 1h20min and 1h35min); you will have to change trains once (look up timetables and itineraries from the Belgian railways website, entering 'Charleroi Sud' and 'Leuven' as departure and arrival cities; the standard ticket fare is EUR 8.70).
• Another option is to take the Brussels City Shuttle which leaves every thirty minutes and takes you to Brussels Midi train station in around an hour; the fare is EUR 13 one-way or EUR 22 for a return ticket. From Brussels Midi you can get a direct train to Leuven (travel time usually around 26 minutes, final destination of trains stopping at Leuven are usually Liège, Eupen, Tongeren, Genk or indeed Leuven; the standard ticket fare is EUR 4.80). You can look up timetables and itineraries from the Belgian railways website, entering 'Bruxelles-Midi' and 'Leuven' as departure and arrival cities.

From Leuven train station, you can take a taxi to wherever you will be going first on your arrival -- presumably your hotel. The fare will probably around 10 euros.

Arrival by train

Brussels is well-connected to important cities in all of Belgium's neighbouring countries, with high-speed links to such destinations as London (under 2h), Paris (1h22min), Amsterdam (under 2h) and Cologne (1h47min). The B-Europe website has all the details.

International trains arrive at Brussels Midi train station, from where you can get a direct train to Leuven (the travel time is usually around 26 minutes; final destination of trains stopping at Leuven are usually Liège, Eupen, Tongeren, Genk or indeed Leuven; the standard ticket fare is EUR 4.80). You can look up timetables and itineraries from the Belgian railways website, entering 'Bruxelles-Midi' and 'Leuven' as departure and arrival cities.

From Leuven train station, you can take a taxi to wherever you will be going first on your arrival -- presumably your hotel. The fare will probably around 10 euros.

Arrival by car

Leuven is situated on the axis Oostende-Brussel-Leuven-Liège-Köln, at the junction of two important European motorways: E40 and E314. Parking space in the city centre is at a premium; your best option is to contact your hotel directly and arrange a parking space with them.

Come rain or shine

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