How to get there

How to reach Leuven

By airplane

The nearest airport is Brussels International Airport. There is also an airport in Charleroi (also known as Brussels South) which has cheaper flights (e.g. Ryanair), however Leuven is most easily reached from Brussels International Airport.

Brussels airport (Zaventem)

By train:
Entering the arrival hall, go to your right. You will find escalators and elevators going to LEVEL -1. Level -1 is the train station of the airport. There are two trains an hour leaving from the airport to Leuven (look for direction Landen) (NOT Louvain-La-Neuve!). On both trains, Leuven is the first stop after 14 to 16 minutes of riding. At the train station in Leuven you can walk or take a bus or a taxi to the hotel, depending on where your hotel is.

By taxi:
A taxi takes about 25 minutes from Brussels Airport to Leuven. A single journey will cost about 70 euro. Always take a taxi at the official taxi stand.

For more info on Brussels Airport, go to: http://www.brusselsairport.be/en/

Charleroi airport (“Brussels South airport”, 45km south of Brussels)

There is no train station at the airport (Brussels South railway station is in Brussels and not at Charleroi!)
There are buses from the airport to the railway station (bus line A). You can purchase a ticket at the bus stop (door n°2) to Charleroi South railway station.
In Charleroi South Railway Station you can buy a ticket to Leuven (NOT Louvain-La-Neuve!). The travelling time will be between 80 and 95 minutes.

For more info on Charleroi or Brussels South airport, go to: http://www.charleroi-airport.com/

For more info on time tables for buses go to:
http://www.charleroi-airport.com/en/passengers/acces-and-parking/by-rail-bus/index.html

For more info on time tables for trains to Leuven (select Charleroi South Railway Station and not Brussels South Railway Station!), go to: http://www.belgianrail.be/en/

By train

By train, Leuven (NOT Louvain-La-Neuve!) is only 20 minutes from Brussels, 45 minutes from Antwerp, 30 minutes from Liège, 90 minutes from the Belgian coast and at 2 to 3 hours from cities like Düsseldorf, Paris, Amsterdam, Calais,…
Travelers from France and England can easily take the Thalys, the Eurostar or TGV. The Thalys also comes in from the Netherlands and Germany. There is a 4 daily direct connection from Frankfurt to Liège and Brussels with the ICE. Most international trains make a stop in Brussels South railway station (=“Bruxelles-Midi”,“Brussel-Zuid”). From this station (as from every main station in Brussels) it is easy to catch a train to Leuven. A train ticket from Brussels to Leuven will cost you between €3 and €6. There are at least two trains an hour to Leuven. The ride to Leuven from Brussels railway stations will take you about 20 minutes.

The train station of Leuven is conveniently situated at the edge of the city centre. The conference venue is in the centre of the city and is situated at an acceptable walking distance from the railway station. You can also take a bus to get to the conference venue. Take bus number 1 or 2 and get off at Rector De Somerplein. Then take Tiensestraat for about 300m; the conference is indicated (large porch) on your left (opposite to Pentahotel Leuven). The courses are held on the engineering campus in the neighbouring town of Heverlee. To get from Leuven to the campus in Heverlee, take bus nr. 2 (direction Heverlee Campus) or 616 (direction Zaventem) from Leuven railway station. Get off the bus at "Campus Arenberg II" after approx. 20 (when taking bus nr. 2) or 10 (when taking bus nr. 616) minutes.
Information about the schedules is available on the websites www.delijn.be for bus transport and http://www.b-europe.com/Travel for international and http://www.belgianrail.be/en/ for national train transport.

By car

Attention: within the inner ring of Leuven older GPS systems might not be accurate since the city has implemented a new circulation plan for cars.

From Brussels or Liège

To get to campus social sciences
Take the E40 motorway, then the E314 motorway (follow “Leuven Hasselt Genk”).
Take the exit “Leuven”. Due to Leuven fair you might not be able to use the car in the city center, therefore it s better to park your car in one of the parking spaces suggested further in the page.

To get to Aula Pieter de Somer

Take the E40 motorway, then the E314 motorway (follow “Leuven Hasselt Genk”). Take the exit “Leuven”. Due to Leuven fair you might not be able to use the car in the city center, therefore it s better to park your car in one of the parking spaces suggested further in the page.

To get to the course location:
Take the E40 motorway. Leave the E40 highway Brussels-Leuven-Luik at the exit "Leuven-E314" (A2). Leave the E314 immediately, at the exit nr. 15, "Leuven", and turn right at the third traffic lights. You are now in the Celestijnenlaan, and the Department is some 500m ahead, at your right-hand side, just across the bridge over the river Dijle. Our building is easily recognizable by the winch in front of it.

From Hasselt or Aachen

To get to campus social science

Take the E314/A2 motorway (follow “Brussel, Leuven”). Take the exit 15 “Leuven”. Continue and turn right just before the 4th traffic light. Due to Leuven fair you might not be able to use the car in the city center, therefore it s better to park your car in one of the parking spaces suggested further in the page.

To get to Aula Pieter de Somer
Take the E314/A2 motorway (follow “Brussel, Leuven”). Take the exit 15 “Leuven”. Continue and turn right just before the 4th traffic light. Due to Leuven fair you might not be able to use the car in the city center, therefore it s better to park your car in one of the parking spaces suggested further in the page.

To get to the course location:
Take the E314/A2 motorway. Leave the E314/A2 highway at the exit nr. 15. Turn right at the third traffic lights. You are now in the Celestijnenlaan, and the Department is some 500m ahead, at your right-hand side, just across the bridge over the river Dijle. Our building is easily recognizable by the winch in front of it.

Parking in and near the city centre of Leuven

It is very hard to find a free parking spot in the City centre of Leuven (The maximum length of stay is usually limited to a maximum of 2 hours). Most of the streets in the city centre of Leuven have parking meters and the police and “stadswacht” regularly patrol the streets in order to give out fines to illegally parked cars.

Visitors are therefore advised to park their cars in one of the following:

PAYING parking lots:
- Parking Ladeuze: 740 parking spots, underground
  Address: Ladeuzeplein 20, its entry is indicated from the “Tiensepoort”
  Tel.: (+32) 16 31 07 07
  Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
- Parking Heilig Hart: 447 parking spots, underground
  Address: Naamsestraat 102
  Tel.: (+32) 27 11 17 00
  Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day (for exiting; entering is only possible between 7.00 and 23.00)
- Parking Philipssite: 1200 parking spots, underground
  Address: Philipssite
  Tel.: (+32) 16 58 42 53
  Opening hours: 7 days a week, from 7.00 to 0.00 (in the weekends from 9.00 and 0.00)
- De Bond: 385 parking spots at the railway station, underground
  Address: Martelarenplein 18 (entry by way of the tunnel)
  Tel: (+ 32) 16 58 43 90
  Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
  This parking is a P+R parking: with your parking ticket you can get a free bus ticket to the city centre. Just show your parking ticket when entering the bus.
- Sint-Jacobsplein: 338 parking spots, above ground
  Address: Sint-Jacobsplein
  Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
  Pay between 09.00 - 21.00
FREE parking lots outside of the ring:
- Parking Bodart: 165 parking spots, above ground
  Address: Veilingweg

How to reach Heverlee from Leuven by bus

The courses are held on the engineering campus in the neighbouring town of Heverlee. To get from Leuven to the campus in Heverlee, take bus nr. 2 (direction Heverlee Campus) or 616 (direction Zaventem) from Leuven railway station. Alternatively, you can also take bus nr. 2 (direction Heverlee Campus) from stops in the city center. Get off the bus at "Campus Arenberg II" after approx. 20 (when taking bus nr. 2) or 10 (when taking bus nr. 616) minutes.
Information about the schedules is available on the website www.delijn.be.