Beer tradition
Leuven and beer. It goes without saying. The city is home to Stella Artois, with a history dating back to the 14th century. You can visit the current brewery and find out how Stella is made. Besides that flagship, there are also plenty of smaller breweries. Hidden away in an atmospheric residential area of Kessel-Lo, just outside the city centre, brewer Bart from De Coureur Brewery experiments with new flavours that you can only taste on site. In Park Abbey, Braxatorium Parcensis brews beer inside the abbey walls, following traditions and recipes that go back centuries. You can taste the abbey beers at brasserie De Abdijmolen or buy them at the farm shop on the abbey grounds. Within cycling distance, discover even more breweries, such as microbrewery Adept in Herent. You can taste the beers straight away at De Smederij.
Fancy exploring beer and city at the same time? Take your bike and follow the Bouts and Beer route or the Leuven Beer Adventure cycling route. Or set off on a beer adventure through the city centre on foot..
Another round?
From a quick lunch to elaborate dining, in Leuven you can eat and drink to your heart’s content. Fine dining, world cuisine, cosy neighbourhood bars, hip coffee bars or just a good spaghetti after midnight? You will find it all here. Gastronomic hotspots are the Muntstraat, Tiensestraat and around the Grote Markt, but actually the whole of Leuven is a ‘tasty’ town.
For beer lovers, there are still real beer cafes and pubs where they will be happy to give you information about every barley water on the menu. The real test? The Oude Markt. More than 40 cafes side by side. You go there for one quick drink and end up staying much longer. And that happens every time.
