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Travel
Leuven is the
capital of the Flemish Brabant region of Belgium and is situated about 30 km
east of Brussels. It is easy to reach by most common modes of transport,
and, once in the city, travel between the various symposium venues and the
various residences is most easily done on foot, with the longest single
journey taking about 20 minutes at a stroll. Please refer also to the
MAPS
page.
Arriving
by Plane
Brussels
(international) Airport,
which is situated in the small town of Zaventem, lies
about halfway between the centre of Brussels and the centre of Leuven. From
the airport by car or taxi, the journey takes 20 minutes outside of rush
hours. During rush hours, the journey can easily take twice as long. Expect
to pay about 60€ to Leuven if you take a licensed taxi (identified by a blue
and yellow license emblem) from the airport. A cheaper alternative is to
take a direct train from Brussels Airport (Zaventem) and Leuven (Louvain, in
French). There is one direct train per hour on Saturdays and Sundays during
July between 5h37 and 23h37 having a journey time of 14 minutes. During
weekdays, trains depart from Leuven to the Brussels Airport each half hour
between 5h27 and 23h08, taking either 13 or 16 minutes. The last train
departs at 23h31 and takes 16 minutes. The exception to these schedules
during the symposium might be Wednesday 21 July, which is Belgium's National
Holiday. You can check all of the national and international train schedules
for Belgium on the website of
Belgian Railways (SNCB/NMBS). Car hire is also available at the airport.
Brussels South Charleroi Airport lies about
50 km south of Brussels. The shortest distance by car from there to Leuven
is 90 km and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. If you wish to travel by public
transport from there, you need to first take a shuttle bus from the airport
to the train station (the journey is 10 minutes and costs about 3€), then
take a train to Brussels South station (Brussel Zuid, Bruxelles-Midi), which
takes 45 minutes, and finally you need to take a train from Brussels South
station to Leuven, which takes 25 minutes. There are also regular shuttle
bus services between Brussels South Charleroi Airport and Brussels South
train station (Bruxelles-Midi). In all Belgian train stations the departure
times and detailed journey itineraries are displayed on yellow poster boards
- but refer to the electronic display boards for the latest information.
Arriving
by Car
"Google®
Maps" should give enough information to safely and efficiently locate Leuven
if you drive here by car. All hotels reserved for the symposium have parking
spaces, but we recommend that delegates make contact with the hotels in
plenty of time to confirm their availability and enquire if there are any
extra charges. There are adequate, free, unsecured, parking areas very close
to the KULeuven students accommodation. Within Leuven centre, including at
the train station and close to the symposium venues, there are several large
underground parking areas at reasonable rates for medium-long stay parking.
In most areas of central Leuven, only short-stay parking is allowed, for
which you must also pay. Speed cameras are operational on the main approach
dual carriageway to Leuven (Koning Boudewijnlaan) just after exiting the A2
(E314) (many people are caught out by the rather abrupt speed limit change
130 - 90 - 70 km/h), and on the ring road of Leuven (50 km/h). If you rent a
car from the airport, be aware that the first junction from the airport to
Leuven is rather complicated. Around this junction, follow the direction
Luik. Refer also to the
MAPS
page for a picture of this.
Arriving
by Train
(including from the UK)
Leuven is easily
accessible from mainland Europe by train. Arriving from France, Germany, or
The Netherlands usually requires a change at Brussels South station
(Brussel Zuid, Bruxelles-Midi).
From there you may take the national line directly to Leuven (see below).
At
the time of writing, Eurostar tickets purchased in the UK for travel to
Belgium are valid for travel from the main destination of Brussels South
station (Brussel Zuid, Bruxelles-Midi) to all Belgium train stations at no
extra cost. Directly on exiting the international line, take the narrow
steps down to the ground floor, or use the adjacent lift. On the ground
floor to the left is the main departure hall of the station with a series of
escalators on the right leading upwards. One of these will be destination
Leuven (Louvain). Please note that Louvain-la-Neuve is another city. In all
Belgian train stations, the scheduled departure times and detailed journey
itineraries are displayed on yellow poster boards - but refer to the
electronic boards for the latest information. You can check all of the
national and international train schedules for Belgium on the website of
Belgian Railways (SNCB/NMBS).
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