leuvenstudentguide-blog

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De Werf is a frisky and fun place to eat at the heart of Leuven. It is situated on the Hogeschoolplein, a cute plaza with a lawn. It’s a very attractive place for the Leuven students. You can sit inside and outside. When the sun’s out, I guarantee you: this place is chock full! Even in winter, we like to sit outside, because they offer cosy blankets and you can sit beneath heat lamps. There are a couple of reasons for the success of this place: Firstly, the prices are rather low. For a wrap with chicken you pay +- 5 euros. For the spaghetti Bolognese with cheese (which is delicious by the way; the best spaghetti you’ll ever eat!!!), you pay 7,5 euros. This place is also decorated to make you feel at ease : it is “picnic” themed so you get your bread in boxes, your drinks in plastic cups and your food also on plastic plates. You even get your coffee or soup in a thermos can. This may sounds odd, but you should try it! The staff is also very friendly, just another advantage! Concluded: if you want a relaxed and cheap meal with your friends, visit de Werf!

Address: Hogeschoolplein 5 Price: $ Heleen’s favourite:  chicken wrap / homemade ice tea with fruit / tiramisu with speculoos Jannike’s favourite: chicken wrap / homemade ice tea /  tiramisu with speculoos Opening hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 - 24:00

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Sushi lovers, can I have your attention please: visit Samurai!!!! This is the most delicious and cheap sushi you’ll ever eat. First off, it’s located in the cosiest street of Leuven: de Muntstraat. Here you’ll find a variety of restaurants offering foreign foods from different countries. But now, about what really matters: the sushi. To begin with, the rolls are very thick. And most importantly: they are thick and well stocked in comparison with the small sushi you get in other places. What I find the most outstanding is a secret ingredient they put in their california rolls: some orange stuffing, which tastes rather sweet but also spicy. I’ve never seen that in other sushi. The price you pay is also very reasonable, for 2 rolls, which contains 16 (big) pieces, you pay 11,5 euros (remark: this is the price of the roll I always buy: avocado salmon California roll). You can also order the student menu, a “sushi boat”,  which is very popular with the students. For this boat you pay 25 for 2 persons, and it contains a variety of sushi : you get some with crab, shrimp, salmon, even some sushi with a strawberry on top! It can’t be more variated. So, if you’re starving for some sushi, and don’t want to be poor afterwards, go visit Samurai! (TIP: you can also take away, you just have to call them and it will be ready for you to take away!)

Address: Muntstraat 9 Price: $$ Telephone for reservations or take away: 016 22 62 88 Our favourite: salmon and avocado California rolls Opening hours: Monday - Friday: 12:00 - 14:30                                                       18:00 - 23:00                            Saturday-Sunday: 12:00 - 15:00                                                          18:00 - 24:00

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If you’re looking for a sophisticated and pleasant place to have a lunch, “Le Mustache” is an appropriate choice. This is a typical breakfast- and lunch bar. You’ll have to choose between a variety of lattes and coffees, in every form and colour. I’ll give you a few examples: an oreo latte, a ferrero rocher latte, or even a kitkat latte: there’s a flavour for everyone. They also offer an assortment of cold drinks, like lemonade, or for the not-coffee lovers: hot chocolate. In regards of food, you can choose between a variety of bagels. For every bagel you pay 4,5 euros. You can also order some croques or a bowl of cereals with toppings of your choice. For those who don’t know  what a croque is: this is grilled bread, traditionally with cheese and ham in between, but there are also other varieties. The owner of this place is also a lovely person, always super friendly. If you want to, you can also take away your coffee.

Address: Tiensestraat 129 Price: $$ Heleen’s favourite: salmon and herb cheese bagel / Speculoos latte Jannike’s favourite: salmon and herb cheese bagel/ hot chocolate Opening hours: Tuesday-Thursday: 9:00 - 18:00                             Friday-Saturday: 9:00 - 17:00

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Let us introduce you to the most successful sandwich shop in Leuven. “Het Smullerke” is well known for its abundantly filled breads and, as a consequence, its long rows of people who take advantage of this. The sandwiches are also very crispy, like they just got out of the oven. When you don’t want to wait half an hour, I suggest you to go get your bread before the rush hour: this means before 11h30. But the sandwiches are definitely worth the wait, and the staff works really fast. Every day there’s a different sandwich of the day that you can buy for a lower price than usual. You can also get a customer card, and when this is full (when you have bought 20 sandwiches), you receive a free one!

Address: Tiensestraat 174 Price: $ Our favourite: vegetable cheese sandwich Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 7:30 - 17:00

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Attention- this burger restaurant only exists in Belgium and The Netherlands! That’s why you should really visit this place when you are on a vacation in the “Low lands”. At Ellis gourmet burger you can choose out of a whole assortment of burgers: You can pick the classic: a burger with extra bacon and cheese, but there are also burgers filled with chicken meat, lamb meat, fish and even vegetarian ones. Every month there are 2 special burgers. This burger is accompanied with some French fries, coleslaw or a grilled corncob. And of course, some real good homemade mayonnaise. Ellis doesn’t only offer you these delicious burgers, they also have some special fresh and homemade drinks on their menu. My personal favourite is the strawberry lemonade. You can also take a kiwi lemonade or homemade ice tea! You should really try this out if you like to treat yourself ;)

Address: naamsestraat 5 Price: $$$ Heleen’s favourite: bacon and cheese burger / strawberry lemonade Jannike’s favourite: crazy red veggie burger / strawberry lemonde Opening hours: Tuesday-Wednesday: 11:30 - 22:00                            Thursday-Saturday: 11:30 - 24:00                             Sunday: 11:30 - 22:00

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Imagine: you are walking home from a party in one of the bars in this beautiful city, craving some greasy food. Het Hoekske is here for you! When you scrape together your last coins of the evening, you can buy a tasty pizza or a big kebab. Het hoekske is almost open 24/7. This business is owned by some very friendly, hard working Turkish people. The prices are also very student friendly, you can get a pizza for 5,50 and a kebab, (fries included!!!) for 4 euros. We can guarantee you that you will not sit there on your own; this place is always cram-full, no matter if it’s day or night. So, in conclusion: when you’re hungry, and poor (like most students here), go to Het hoekske!

Address: Naamsestraat 36 Price: $ Heleen’s favourite: durum with chicken and cheese Jannike’s favourite: pizza with pineapple Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 11:00 - 6:00                           Sunday: 11:00 - 24:00

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Mexican food: everybody loves it. Go to Donki and you will experience the taste of Mexico: fajitas or tacos with sour cream, salsa, and of course: GUACAMOLE! In this lovely and cosy place in the middle of Leuven, the “oude markt”, you can order your Mexican deliciousness. You can eat in or either take away. There is a choice between chili con carne, beef or chicken between your soft fajita or crunchy tacos. It is difficult to eat, because this taco is always crammed, but that’s also the deliciousness of it! You can also order a “naked” burrito, this is everything that normally lies between a burrito, but served in a bowl, without the burrito. For one meal, you pay approximately 10 euros. Donki also offers you a fresh lemonade or some special Mexican beer. I really recommend you the fresh mint lemonade, it is so refreshing! Give it a shot!

Address: Oude markt 48 Price: $$ Heleen’s favourite: fajita burrito with grilled chicken Jannike’s favourite: tacos with chili con carne and mint lemonade Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 11:30 - 21:00                             Saturday-Sunday: 12:00 - 20:00

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Student life is exhausting and sometimes you really need… coffee! Coffee college is a chain you can find in most major belgian cities and a cosy place where you can get your liquid gold. If you’re in a hurry, you can take it away but you can also sit there and relax for a while! Coffee college offers you lots of different coffees, lattes, and even hot chocolate and ice tea. If you really need some comfort, you can also buy a soft chocolate chip cookie or other baked goods. This is served in a brown bag, like the stereotypical lunches in American high schools.

Address: tiensestraat 72 Price: $ Heleen’s favourite: caramel latte Jannike’s favourite: hot chocolate with whipped cream Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday: 08:00 - 18:00                           Saturday: 10:00 - 18:00

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Our others favourite coffee place in Leuven is the Mont Café. It’s a very small shop on the  Alfons Smetsplein. The inside is so small it doesn’t really allow you to sit down, but when the weather is good they put a little terrace in front of the shop. It is an ideal place to take away and grab a coffee when you’re in a hurry before class. They offer a big assortment of coffees, lattes and latte macchiatos infused with different flavours. But also smoothies, teas, and some baked goods. In summary, everything a good coffee shop needs! For me the biggest advantage of this shop ( which may be a disadvantage for some others) is that they don’t offer their coffee super hot, so you don’t have to wait for it to cool down, you can drink it right away. Their personnel is also really friendly, and always offers you a tiny free pretzel with your order.

Address: Alfons Smetsplein 1 Price: $ Heleen’s favourite: caramel latte Jannike’s favourite: hot chocolate with whipped cream Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 08:00 - 18:00

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Leuven is nationally and internationally known for its nightlife, making it a popular destination for Belgian but also for Erasmus students. There are a lot of opportunities to go out, mostly bars. The most popular destination is the “Oude Markt” (Litt: Old Market) which is famous for its high number of bars/pubs, for this fact it is called The longest Bar in Europe. By day the terraces are flooded by students and tourist sharing drinks, when the sun is out you’ll have to be lucky to find a place to sit. By night the cosy day bars transform into dancefloors. For students the most popular places to go out are the “Fakbars”, these are bars that are held open by students of a certain faculty of the university. They serve drinks at a remarkable low price, and since you need to show your student card to be granted access, it is a place exclusively for students. Most students go out on Thursday night, as a consequence it tends to be a little overcrowded these days, but there is never a dull night here. Every weekday is a perfect day to go out.

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Welcome to our city!

Leuven is a rather small, but very interesting and vibrant city in Belgium. It’s the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant and is the 10th largest municipality in Belgium. This city is home to the “Katholieke Universiteit Leuven” or the KULeuven for short. This university was founded in 1425 and educates around 55,484 students, making it the largest and oldest university of Belgium. Because of the university, a lot of students decide to get a “kot”: a student room where they stay during the week and return back home in the weekends. This crowns Leuven the major “student city” of the country.

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The Leuven City Hall can be found on the  “Grote Markt” (Litt: Grand Market) which is located in the heart of the city. This impressive building is crowned one of the most famous gothic town halls in the world. It is richly decorated and meticulously detailed, counting 236 statues on the outside that portray biblical events. This ancient landmark is a hotspot for tourists from inside and outside the country. It’s a popular place to take photos and visit to discover the rich history of the building. Guided tour are organised daily where a guide tells you about the construction history of this gothic pearl and leads you around the inside of this imposing building. In the winter, the city hall is decorated with a huge number of fairy lights, delivering an enchanting glow to the Grote Markt which also gives you a great opportunity to take some festive pictures.

Address: Grand Market 1 Opening hours: every day at 15:00 Price: 4 euro (tour + information booklet)

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The Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein, or just Ladeuzeplein for short, is the largest square of Leuven and is located in the centre of the city. It is named after the former Rector magnificus of the Catholic University: Monseigneur Paulin Ladeuze. When the sun is out, it’s a popular meeting place for students to gather or hang around on the low platforms. In the middle of the square you can find a remarkable work of art: an upside down beetle impaled on a 23 metre high needle. This artwork is called “de Totem” and was placed on the square in 2005 by the artist Jan Fabre. It was commissioned by the Catholic University of Leuven as a gift to the city on the occasion of the 575ste anniversary of the University. Also located on the Ladeuzeplein is the Central University library. This neo-renaissance building was built between 1921 and 1928 as a gift from the American people to the city and at the University of Leuven. The library possesses around four million books and has a reading room where students of the university can study. The building also has a 87 meter tall tower containing on of the biggest carillons of Europe. The building offers tours where an audio guide leads you up the 5 floors of the tower, when you finally reach the tower balcony you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the city.

Address: Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein 21 Opening hours: every day 10:00 – 17:00 Price: 7 euro

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For a central city, Leuven has a lot of green space. Het Sint-Donatuspark, also called het Stadspark, is the biggest park of the city. Here you can still find a few remnants of a tower of the old ring wall that used to go around the old city of Leuven. It’s a popular place for walks, picnics, or to simply take a rest and enjoy nature and the sun. When you pay attention you can also find some art painted on walls and electricity boxes. Another park can be found on the riverbanks of the Dijle, Het Dijlepark is a cute smaller park and it is the perfect place for a picnic or a date. There is a small pond with a bridge and a gazebo giving the place a romantic glow.

De Kruidtuin is the oldest botanical garden in Belgium, it was created in 1738 by the university for its medicine students, but has since then outgrown its original purpose. The terrain measures 2.2 hectares, covered in an extensive collection of trees, shrubs and bushes. It possesses a 450 square meter greenhouse complex where you can find a collection of herbaceous plants but also a variety of tropical and subtropical plants. This large park with its carefully maintained trails is a perfect place for a walk, or to discover more about the rich collection of

The last park I’ll mention is a little hidden secret of mine. While it’s still a public park, hardly anyone ever goes there, it doesn’t even show up on google maps. The Mariapark is a pretty small and overgrown park you can access from the Kartuizerij, which is a small pathway that connects the Tervuursevest and the Bankstraat. It’s a park dedicated to Christianity and the Stations of the Cross, while you walk through it you can follow the story of Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion. While I am not a religious person at all, this park always manages to calm me down. Last year I lived in a student home in the neighbourhood of that park, and went for walks there when I was stressed out during the exam season. It’s a very relaxing and calming place and always makes me feel like I’m alone in the middle of the forest even when I’m in the middle of a busy city.  

Sint-Donatuspark/ Stadspark Address: Tiensestraat/Ch.Deberiotstraat/Vlamingenstraat

Opening hours: 01.05 - 30.09: 9u-20                            01.10 - 30.04: 9u-17u

Dijlepark Address: Redingenstraat

Opening hours: 01.05 - 30.09: 9u-20                            01.10 - 30.04: 9u-17u

Kruidtuin Address: Kapucijnenvoer 30 Opening hours: 01.05 - 30.09: 9u-20                            01.10 - 30.04: 9u-17u Price: Free

Mariapark

Address: Kartuizerij ( from Tervuursevest or Bankstraat) Opening hours: 01.05 - 30.09: 9u-20                           01.10 - 30.04: 9u-17u