Leuven Off The Beaten Path

Anchoring a corner of the former Stella factory, this bar had the reputation of having the most direct "pipeline" to all that golden, liquid Stella goodness. A regular Joe kind of place- laidback and authentic. Check it out before it moves or disappears since the old brewery site has been sold, making the bar's days numbered. Well worth the healthy walk from the city centre to visit. Make sure to check out the dingy "yachts" across the street, too. Located on Varrtstraat off of Varrtkom.

Bell ringing has been a hobby of mine since the late 1990s. My boyfriend is a carillon player and so bells are a theme wherever we visit.
I simply love the bell music. Those huge bells can be hunderds of years old. Their sound was heard by people in the middle ages. Isn't that just amazing?

For some information about the carillon at Leuven University, see the link below.
Obviously much more information on the Dutch version of this website.

The nice thing about carillon music is that it is free. Everyone can hear it.

Here's a schedule for summer concerts 2010 (on Saturdays from 9-10 pm):
http://www.kuleuven.be/cultuur/beiaard/ladeuzebells.html

You can visit the tower for free on a guided tour just before the concerts at 7.30 pm.
Any questions or requests, do use the e-mail address below!

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Along the path you'll notice the buildings of the Van Dale College. As you continue past the parking lot, you're in an alley called Pieter Van Dale pad, which leads right to Naamsestraat.

When you're at Naamsestraat, look the the Rococo-style chapel on your right. It is built with remnants (and on the site of) the Heversche Binnenpoort, just like the Wolfspoort this is another structure (belonging to and older, long gone inner city ring) that was demolished in the 18th century (1754) .

The 16th century cartographer Mercator (1512-1594), who became world renowned for the "Mercator projection" he used in his Atlas and earth/celestial globe, used to live on Mechelsestraat in Leuven.

He has a statue - a fairly small and ugly one at that, if you reckon how important his work was - out on the Mercator pad (path) . It is from the hand of architect/sculptor Raoul Biront (former student of Oscar Declerck - see "The Human Endeavour") and was inaugurated 23 August 2001. It was a gift to the city from Leuven's "Handelaarsverbond" (the mercantile union), to celebrate their 55th anniversary.

Directions : from the center facing the town hall, walk down Brusselsestraat untill you're at the intersection where the river Dyle flows underneath. Keep to the right and follow the Dyle for about 300m - the Mercatorpad is to your right, you'll see the statue in front of you on the other side of the street (in front of the Euromut building).

No motorvehicels are allowed in the first part (closest to the center) of this lovely street. It will lead you to the "Vismarkt" (Fish Market, although that is no longer the case).

Although it's mainly lined with stores, the Mechelsestraat is a nice place to take a walk. Start behind St. Peter's church, at the small statue of Erasmus. There are a few clothing and shoe stores, some of the boutique variety, but they're nice. There's also a well known comic book store, "Gobelijn Strips".

Note : the 16th century cartographer Mercator (1512-1594, renowned for his Atlas and earth/celestial globe) used to live on Mechelsestraat.

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The Handbooghof (literally "Archer's Court") is a treelined path right off Brusselsestraat and runs along a sidearm of the river Dyle.

It has the most complete of all the city's remnanst of the original 12th century ringwall (the original boundary of the inner city), including a tower - in which pigeons nest and sleep. There used to be a trench around the wall on the outside, making it easier to attack those trying to invade the city - hence the name "Archer's Court". Most of the medieval ringwall around Leuven has disappeared over the years and this is one of the last spots where you can see it up close.

Directions : from the center facing the town hall, walk to the right and down Brusselsestraat. After the intersection where the river Dyle crosses underneath, walk ca. 200m further down Brusselsestraat, you'll see the Handbooghof path to your right.

Right outside the "Vanderkelen Museum"(the museum of Leuven's history), at the site where the public library used to be, there's this striking statue called "De Menselijke Krachtinspanning" ("The Human Endeavour") by Oscar Declerck, inaugurated in 1937. You can't miss it when visiting te museum.

Directions : from the center facing the town hall, walk to your left and cross the adjacent square "Fochplein" and walk into Leuven's main street, the Bondgenotenlaan. The first street to your right is the Vanderkelenstraat, the statue is a bit further, to your right, in the front lawn of the block which houses the Vanderkelen city museum.

If you plan on visiting the Groot Begijnhof (Great Beguinage, see "Things To Do") don't just walk in and out the main entrance in Schapenstraat, but walk down the lovely and usually very quiet Zwartzustersstraat as well, it's a sidestreet of the Schapenstraat.
The scene feels very "19th century" and the Zwartzustersstraat has wonderful views where it crosses the Dyle river, as well. There's also a side entrance to the Great Beguinage itself.