It’s been one hack of a summer for the entire family. We moved from and relocated to a different country from Kosovo to Cyprus, Albania to Belgium, Turkey to the Netherlands. The least of us moving was from one city to another in Germany :D

My niece who recently started her university education is the one that has moved to Belgium. This was the first time we heard of Leuven when she started searching for schools and decided that she wanted to study there.

Together with my sister, they arrived Belguim at the beginning of September to settle in, do the paper work and attend the prerequisite courses before the semester started.

So, having moved to Amsterdam myself recently, I took my chance to visit my beloved sister and niece and discover this lovely city.

I visited Leuven for two weekends and spent most of the time catching up with my family, but there were some discoveries made in between.

University of Leuven (the name may not be the exact one :) )is a prominent school and there are a lot of both local and international students coming to this city to study. I believe that university youth makes a city vibrant and lively.

How to get to Leuven

Leuven is very close to both Brussels and Antwerp. There are trains from both cities. The nearest airport is Brussels Airport and there are direct trains from and to Leuven as well.

I travelled from Amsterdam and had a change over Mechelen on my way to Leuven and Antwerp on my way back to Amsterdam.

Where to stay in Leuven

Leuven is a small city and there aren’t many hotels as it’s not a main turist destination. Having said that there are a couple of chain hotels that caught my eye. I think it would be wise to avoid moving in and out seasons for students as the hotels will be overbooked due to high demand.

When to visit

Spring and Autumn would be ideal for me as the mild temperatures make it more pleasant to stroll around. But European summer is like Spring most of the time :) Christmas season is fun almost everywhere around Europe - but I have not been in Leuven during Christmas yet so, you decide for yourself ;)

What to do in Leuven

The best activity for me is the visit my niece and sister :) we all enjoy having a good meal and nice chat. Leuven has nice cafes especially for weekend brunches. We have not been fully successfull in discovering the nice restaurants yet. That will happen in time :)

The main mission was to help my niece settle so we stolled through Leuven center for shopping utilities passed through the old town hall on the way. The town hall can be visited on certain times.

There is a student statue which was either made to mock partying students or symbolize how learning occurs, you decide yourself. The information is processed after being absorbed by the brain like a sponge absorbs liquids. What do you think? My impression was more on the former :D

Our favourite brunch Spots

We tried Le pain quotidienne, Mad Mum and Bar Leuv. Most of the places were crowded during weekends so I think it’s either better to start the day early or just go with the flow.

The Plates in Bar Leuv are quiet large, keep that in mind before ordering :)

Leuven is one of the smaller cities that you will probably not hear of unless you specifically travel there for a reason. But it’s a lovely city and has a lot to offer if you’re nearby.

P.S. All photos are taken by my sister <3