"Welkom in Leuven" Leuven by Taffi

Leuven is a small city, but it has two big things: a brewery and a university. It is a truth universally acknowledged that these two go together well.
The medieval town hall, the beguinage and the University buildings are well worth a visit.
And I was born here!

Leuven's "Fonske", the source of wisdom

See the main sights: the Town Hall and the "Grote Markt", St Peter's Church, the university library and the university halls - and by all means don't forget the pleasant Beguinage ("Begijnhof") just outside of the city centre.

Local life: on a sunny day, find yourself a seat on a terrace on the "Oude Markt".
Order a drink (Stella on draught, for example: doesn't taste that good, but hey, you want to get into the student atmosphere!) and do some daydreaming or people watching. Meeting people in bars maybe more difficult here than in certain other corners of the world. Some people may look at you in a strange way if you spontaneously introduce yourself. Others, however, may not!

Belgium is so small that nearly every student goes back home for the weekend. This often causes a massive exodus on Friday afternoon, which is therefore not the best moment to take a train out of the city.
Saturdays and Sundays tend to be very quiet, as the main party night is Thursday night. Summers are quiet as well. The streets can be quite empty - and there's not even tumbleweed in Belgium! To fill them up again, the city organizes several concerts and other events during summer, which is nice.

You can find out what's on (and more) at

http://www.leuven.be/showpage.asp?iPageID=2721

• Pros:a real student town!
• Cons:a real student town!