Around this time last year, I have started to plan to spend a weekend in Leuven. The city is just simply lovely for a weekend trip in the autumn.
Where: Belgium
Drive: 2-3 hours
Optimal Stay: 1-2 days
The whole city has a kind of fresh atmosphere, which is probably because this city is a well-known place to have university studies.
Coming along with university life there are so many nice coffee shops, pubs, cute restaurants and the city is also ideal for shopping.
You cannot even choose were to jump in for a coffee or to grab something to eat.
During the weekend we went for shopping, were drinking lot of beers, went for long walks in the old medieval streets of Leuven, visited the historical quarter: Groot Begijnhof, the botanical garden, a cute lake: Park Kessel-Lo, the historic abbey and another nice lake next to it: Abdij van Park and the library of the university.
My personal two favorites were to visit Groot Begijnhof and the botanical garden. Groot Begijnhof is a well preserved old beguinage and restored historical quarter in Leuven.
I had a special feeling when was walking there: it really felt back in time, but still somehow "living".
Of course, the botanical garden was also beautiful to visit with all the colorful leaves in the autumn.
The lake at Park Kessel-Lo and the lake at Abdij van Park are both perfect for a nice run or to spend time on fresh air with children.
Where to Stay?
We were staying in Martin`s Klooster Hotel in Leuven. The hotel was the perfect choice from all perspectives: right in the center with parking option, very nice and clean rooms, super breakfast, live jazz in their bar in the evenings. I can only recommend, it was the perfect pick for a romantic weekend.
Martin`s Klooster Hotel:
Where to Eat?
There are so many good restaurants in Leuven, it is very hard to choose. We have not been in lot of restaurants but I can recommend anybody an Italian restaurant: Baracca. Their concept is all about sharing food, so it feels a bit like in the Spanish tapas restaurants. The restaurant has a very good kitchen, a cozy heated terrace and real Italian atmosphere.
Baracca:
Thanks for reading,
Barbara
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