Leuven - Belgium 

There are at least three good reasons to visit Leuven (Louvain in French and Leuven in Dutch), a lively city twenty minutes by train from Brussels. First, it is home to the oldest university in Flanders, founded in the fifteenth century: the history and present of Leuven are inextricably linked to this prestigious cultural institution. Second, it is a nerve center of beer production in Belgium. The international giant InBev is based here, owner of some of the most famous beer brands in the world including Stella Artois (a blonde beer that has always been produced in Leuven), Leffe, Hoeegarden and many others, not only Belgian. If industrial beers turn your nose up, you can visit local microbreweries or participate in one of Leuven's famous beer events, which attract hundreds of producers. Third reason to visit Leuven, it is a city rich in cultural, historical and landscape attractions. Its picturesque centre can be explored in a day, but you will need more time to visit the churches, museums, parks, breweries... and then you would want to miss the lively evening atmosphere, when the pubs of Leuven come alive with locals, students and tourists who meet to chat over a pint of beer? That would be a real shame! Yes, you can visit Leuven on a day trip from Brussels, but it is better to stay longer to not miss the many attractions of this exciting city. -https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/ 

What to see in Leuven

Historic buildings, a prestigious university, magnificent churches, original museums, quaint neighborhoods, green parks, panoramic viewpoints, breweries and even a bizarre modern art installation: there is an incredible amount of things to see in Leuven! Here are the top attractions. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

Grote Markt 

Like the Grand Place in Brussels, the main square in Leuven (Grote Markt in Dutch) is lined with magnificent historic buildings, but its fame is due to a completely different reason. The Grand Place in Leuven is in fact known as “the longest bar in the world”, a nickname it has earned for the 45 bars that line its sides. Do as the locals and Erasmus students passing through Leuven do: spend some pleasant hours of idleness enjoying an excellent Belgian beer sitting at the outdoor tables of one of the many bars in the square. Before sitting down and starting your alcoholic session, look for the statue of the Kotmadam in the square, an affectionate tribute to the women who rented rooms to students in the past.. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

Leuven Town Hall

Among the historic buildings of the Grand Place, the most beautiful is certainly the Town Hall (Stadhuis): this architectural masterpiece is the true pride of the city, even before the historic university and the famous breweries. It is impossible not to recognize at first glance this extraordinary building in late Gothic style, built in the 15th century, whose facade is entirely decorated with 236 statues dedicated to important personalities in the history of the city. The statues were added to the original building in 1850. Today the administrative offices of the municipality have been moved to a more modern location and the old town hall has a purely ceremonial function, which has allowed it to be opened to the public. With a guided tour you will learn the history of the 236 statues and you will be able to visit fairy-tale rooms furnished in late nineteenth-century style. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

University Library and Bell Tower

The beating heart of city life and the most famous tourist attraction in Leuven is the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), a prestigious institution that today has tens of thousands of students and buildings and halls scattered throughout the city and around which the local economy revolves. One of the most beautiful university buildings in Leuven is the wonderful library with Renaissance-style facades dominated by an imposing bell tower over 70 meters high. You can visit the historic reading room, a temple to knowledge with a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with wooden floors and shelves: you will be overcome by an irresistible desire to take a book and start reading! In addition to the library, you can also visit the bell tower and climb to the top to enjoy a splendid panoramic view.. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

Great Hall

Another university venue open to the public is the Aula Magna (University Hall). This historic building was originally a fabric market, but a few years after it opened, the university acquired it and it is still used for official ceremonies today. It is home to a small museum and a university gift shop, but what tourists appreciate most is the charming bar hidden among the stone vaults of these historic halls.. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

Jan Fabre's Beetle Totem Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein, 

The most curious attraction in Leuven is the Totem, a contemporary art installation by the artist Jan Fabre inaugurated in 2004 to celebrate the 575th anniversary of the university. After so many historical and architectural beauties, you will be surprised to see a giant green beetle attached to an enormous 75-meter-high metal needle; the work appears even more bizarre because it is placed in a historic square, with a magnificent palace in the background. The meaning of the work is debated: for some, the insect resembles a precision mechanism and therefore the totem is a tribute to science and technology, for others instead this insect clinging to a needle represents the fragility of life. Whatever its meaning, the image of the totem perfectly summarizes the essence of a cultured but at the same time lively and ironic city like Leuven. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

Groot Begijnhof Leuven

Perfect for a pleasant city walk is the large beguinage of Leuven, a sort of city within the city once inhabited by closed communities of unmarried women or widows who did not want to become nuns. Today it is a characteristic neighborhood made up of cobblestone streets, courtyards, gardens and parks overlooking typical houses built in red brick and sandstone inhabited mostly by students and professors. The area is crossed by the river Dyle, surmounted by numerous bridges that make the atmosphere of this very special place even more fairytale-like. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

M-Museum Leuven 

The most interesting museum in Leuven is the Museum M, within walking distance from the university library: it is an eclectic museum that began as a collection of curiosities and today is the custodian of a collection that brings together past and present, with masterpieces of Flemish art and a selection of Belgian art from 1945 to the present. The museum is also an active cultural center that regularly organizes temporary exhibitions and workshops.. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

Collegiata di San Pietro

The most beautiful religious building in Leuven is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, built (but never finished) in the 15th century. The exterior itself is magnificent and boasts a bell tower that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is worth going inside to admire The Last Supper by Dieric Bouts, a painting of the highest artistic value.. - https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/ 

Altre attrazioni a Lovanio

If you have more time, you can visit other attractions in the city center or a short distance away:

St. Michael's Church, in Baroque style. It stands at the highest point of the city

Botanical Garden, one of the oldest in Belgium Dijlepark, a romantic city park that is not very popular with tourists

Keizersberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery on the Kerizersberg hills north of the center

St. Gertrude's Church, which became famous because it was built entirely without nails

St. James's Church, with bells hanging outside the bell tower instead of inside

Van Aremberg Castle, which cannot be visited during the academic year as it is home to a faculty)

- https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/

FONTE: https://www.belgio.info/fiandre/lovanio/