Leuven Nightlife

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A place festooned in the ribbons and stripes of club revelries (and rivalries) past. What a great atmosphere. The bartender- Jacky- told me he has tended bar their 42 years and counting. Now that's the kind of tenured "faculty" I like! There was even a little raffishness in the once-nicotine stained air as the hour drew late and the normal anti-vice rules (effective since July 1, 2011) temporarily suspended. As the oldest student bar, seniority has its privileges!

Dress Code: The gamet from casual to men in suits.

An attractive spot very popular with the students. The bartender admitted that most of the jazz legends pictured around the place NEVER set foot here. Still, their spirit surrounds this place! Most of the time it is dj programmed music so check for the occasional live sets on their website.

Dress Code: Casual

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The beautiful long square called 'Oude Markt' is lined with very old, tall houses. But when you take your eyes off that wonderful view, you see that the whole square is filled with restaurants and bars and outside terraces. Literally hundreds of people can sit here to enjoy a meal or a drink.

I think the restaurants are for every budget, from fast foodish, sushi, local Belgian and anything else you can think of.

This square is obviously used for music festivals. At one end of the square there was a temporary stage no less than 20 metres wide and 15 metres deep.
Above the streets that turn off the square, there were banners saying 'exit'. I can't imagine otherwise than that the square can be filled with crowds during a concert and the banners are there for safety, so people know how to get off the square.

Dress Code: Informal

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When brewing became a nationwide industry in the 19th century, Leuven became worldfamous for its beers. Today the city is to be known as the beer capital of Belgium.
Besides, where else would you rather sit back, relax and have a drink than on the 'Old Market
square': a traffic-free market square, counting 52 different pubs hidden behind picturesque and historical façades?

And don't forget that Leuven is the home of Stella Artois, worldwide known as INBEV, one of Belgium's most famous breweries.

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Nearby you can find "De Kotmadam" (The Landlady), the statue of a woman on a bench holding a teapot. She is as typical for Leuven as the "Manneken Pis" is for Brussels.

Loungy environment where you can enjoy a nice cocktail or one of the other refreshing drinks, while relaxing with some nice r&b or lounge tunes or enjoying cool music videos on one of the 40 flatscreens hanging on the wall. They have really nice food (tapas, salads, pastas,...) and coffee with a piece of pie... There's also an X-box lounge and internet access through the internetcomputers, but you can also connect your laptop to the internet for free.
A nice atmosphere, nice food and drinks,... It's not as crowded as the small bars at the Oude Markt so it's really a nice place to sit, relax and have fun.

EDIT: Doesn't exist anymore!!!! It's now replaced by an art gallery.

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I only went here once, on a quiet night in June when all the students were revising for their exams; but I could feel an amazing warmth and friendliness from the empty bar. I will definetely come to see this bar on a more busy night around freshers time!

We decided to end our day-trip in a place very popular among the students, the Oude Markt, also known to be the largest bar in Western Europe !! We chose StudentenCafe de Rector, to have a drink and a little something to eat. I liked the very simple atmosphere of the place, and also the pancakes we ate with a good hot chocolate or tea :-)

This ended our city-trip in Leuven, but the experience was so pleasant that we already asked Alex to prepare more of those interesting discoveries of our country's beautiful heritage...

Next excursion planned : Gent !!!

A very nice Grand-cafe situated in the centre of Leuven, excelent food, and a wide variety of beers and wine!

I love to sit here and see all kinds of students and other people walk, cycle along, gossiping and chatting, life, as it is, wonderful!

Dress Code: You can go here with the whole family, no dress code