Explore the beautiful city center of Leuven at your own pace. This self-guided audio tour will take you to all the well-known spots and undiscovered gems of Leuven. The audio guide will tell you all the historical and current ins and outs of each place.
Among the sights is the St. Peter's Church, which was once nearly the tallest building in the world, and the historic town hall of Leuven with its 236 statues. Explore parts of Belgium's largest and oldest university, KU Leuven, including the University Hall. As you walk through the city center, you'll pass by the St. Anthony's Chapel where Father Damien (one of the ten most famous Belgians of all time) is buried, and the impressive St. Michael's Church. Stroll through Leuven's Oude Markt, known as the 'longest bar in Europe.' Visit Brewery Domus, where traditional Belgian beer is brewed. Discover a giant insect sculpture impaled on a 25-meter pole and learn about the university library that has been burned down and rebuilt twice.
Why Visit: The beating heart of student life, dominated by the 1928 university library rebuilt with American money after WWI.
Germans burned it twice - 1914 and 1940. The carillon's 63 bells ring every quarter hour. American engineers gifted the tower. The balustrade still lists 48 US universities who paid. September brings thousands of new students here for the academic opening ceremony.
Ever Wondered: why this bronze student has been pouring wisdom from a book into his head since 1975?
The statue literally shows knowledge filling the mind. Students rub Fonske for exam luck. Water continuously cycles from book to brain. Generations of graduates pose here. This audio guide Leuven reveals he gets a student cap during graduation season. The official name "Fons Sapientiae" means fountain of wisdom.
The Story Behind: Since 2020, the university commemorates student Sanda Dia who died tragically during hazing.
The memorial calls for reflection on humanity and respect. A permanent warning against group pressure and initiation excesses.
Local Secret: This 1650 baroque church has an unfinished facade because the Jesuits ran out of money.
Built as a counter-reformation statement. Inside hangs Verhaghen's "Assumption of Mary." The 1755 pulpit depicts paradise lost. Students still graduate here. The 1960 organ replaced the original destroyed in WWII. This walking tour Leuven shows where theology debates once determined European religious policy.
What You'll Find: 12th-century remnants, all that's left of 5 kilometers of fortification.
The Romanesque gate survives. The rest fell for 19th-century urban development. Once protected scholars, now protects parking spots.
Back in 1425: Founded as one of Europe's oldest universities where Erasmus and Vesalius studied.
Now 50,000 students fill the city. The 1523 Pope's College still houses students. This self guided tour shows how the city IS the university - one in three residents studies here.
