Coming to Leuven
Prepare yourself to face the differences you will meet

This is a preliminary, short survival kit for Leuven/Flanders/Belgium

  • Leuven is situated in the heart of Belgium, 30 minutes by train from its capital (Brussels), 1.5 hours from the North Sea-coast, 2 hours from Paris and London. K.U.Leuven has around 30,000 students.
  • Language: Leuven lies in the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, called Flanders. Most people also speak French and English as a foreign language.
  • Climate: Maritime, which means that we have quite a lot of rain. Belgium also has four seasons:
    • Spring (half March-May): average daily temperature 10-17 °C
    • Summer (June-September): average daily temperature 19-23 °C
    • Fall (October-November): average daily temperature 9-15 °C
    • Winter (December- February/March): average daily temperature 1-5 °C; it can snow and freeze during winter time. Don’t forget your warm clothes, coat, scarf, and gloves for the cold winter-period. The period from November until February can be very wet, grey, and dark.

  • Time zone: GMT + 1 hour; Summer time: GMT + 2 hours (from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October: in this period, we have daylight until late in the evening).
  • Currency: Euro
  • Accommocation: Students live or in privately rented student houses or in student residences (see www.kuleuven.be/accommodation). Students can eat at very reasonable prices in the student restaurants (Alma).
  • Flemish Students go home during the weekends and don’t stay in Leuven.
  • Monthly study and living costs in Leuven: approximately €650-700
  • Special Feast days:
    • All Saints Day (1 Nov)
    • Saint-Nicholas Day (6 Dec: children receive presents, chocolate and sweets)
    • Christmas (25 Dec)
    • Easter Sunday and Monday (movable feasts)
    • Labour Day (1 May)
    • Ascension Day (movable feasts)
    • Whit (Pentecost) Sunday and Monday (movable feasts)
    • Flanders Feast Day (11 July)
    • National Feast Day (21 July)
  • The Academic Year runs from end September until the end of June (with a Christmas and Easter break of two weeks); two semesters (end September-December; February-May) with exams in January and June.
  • Shops are usually open from 10 am until 6 pm (large supermarkets are open from 9 am to 8 pm); most shops are closed on Sundays (except bakeries and a few supermarkets; there is a market on Sundays in front of the Heverlee train station). Medicine is sold in pharmacies and not in normal shops.
  • In Belgium, rubbish must be sorted and recycled: paper & cardboard/ glass/ plastic, metal, drink cartons/ kitchen & garden waste. Please learn about this system when arriving in Leuven.
  • Transport: Leuven is a rather small town, in which you can easily walk; a lot of students cycle around and there is free public transport (buses) for students. From Leuven, you can easily reach the main Belgian cities (e.g., Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, and Liège) and the national airport by train. Traveling to Paris, London, and Amsterdam via Brussels is also very easy.
  • Belgium is famous for its french fries, chocolate and beer (Stella Artois is made in Leuven!)

    ‘What all Belgians have in common is a love for the "good life", which they find in their excellent food and drink, comfortable housing, reliable medical and social services, highly developed traffic and communications infrastructure. Belgians are not the type wanting to impress other people with their achievements, or to convince others of their righteousness. They tend to be rather reserved or introverted in their first contacts with other people, but are sincerely warm and friendly once you get to know them better. They are happy when they can enjoy a safe and comfortable life, together with their family and friends, and they put a high value on privacy. They have a clear aversion towards moralizing, towards telling other people how they should or should not behave (an attitude for which they criticize their neighbours in Holland), and they take "live and and let live" as the basis for their philosophy. R. Hill, in a book on different European characters, describes the Belgians as "open-minded opportunists", noting their pragmatical attitude.’ (F. Heylighen, Belgium: society, character and culture, An essay on the Belgian identity).

Be sure to visit the ‘Living in Leuven’ Web site for more complete information.

Also consult the ‘Living in Leuven’ brochure that you receive at registration from the university.

Another helpful Web site: Belgium