Experience in Leuven, Belgium by Hannah

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What is it like to live in Leuven? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Leuven is a really student-minded city. Everywhere you go, you see them. There are a lot of facilities for students, like specific student-restaurants, a lot of libraries where you can study with other students. Living there, you don't really meet a lot of people who are not students.

What is the student lifestyle like in Leuven?

Party, party, party and studying. During the daytime, everyone is in class or in the library or taking a break for a few hours. In the evening, you can have a drink on the Oude Markt ('the old market') which is filled with bars. In summer time, the whole square is taken in by terraces. Around midnight, the terraces and bars turn in to clubs where you have a lot of different genres of music playing.

How much does it cost to live in Leuven?

I'd say you probably pay about 350-400 euros for accomodation and about 50 euros a week for eating, drinking and partying.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Leuven? Is there any advice you can give?

No, it's really easy. There are a lot of different websites who collect all the rooms available. A lot of renters also have their own website. There's also a facebook group where you can find appartments. And if you take the time to walk around in Leuven, you'll see a lot of messages on doors saying 'te huur', which means 'for rent'. They give a small description of the room that is up for rent and the phone number of the renter, which you can call for further information.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

There's a street called 'de Muntstraat' where you have a lot of different restaurants with different price ranges and different types of kitchens. But if you're in Belgium, you have to try some Fries.

Is the nightlife good in Leuven? Where is good to go?

Yes. Every night, there are different parties. If you just go to the oude markt, there will be parties all over the square. Normally you go from place to place during a night out. Every faculty also has his "Fakbar" which you can only enter with a student card. The drinks there are really cheap.