By air
International Airports:*There is a a regular and quick train service between Brussels Airport and Leuven (direction 'Leuven'), which takes 15 minutes. The airport train station is located below the terminal (basement level-1). A one-way ticket to Leuven will cost you €7.90.
Information on the schedules of all Belgian and international train services can be found on the Belgian Railways website. Enter BRUSSELS AIRPORT as departure station or destination.
*Taxis are permanently available in front of the arrivals hall. The fare from the airport to Leuven is normally around 60-90 euros (rates are higher in the evening)
The Charleroi airport or Brussels South is served by several low cost carriers such as Ryanair. There are several options to reach Leuven. Buses must be reserved in advance:
*Airportbus.eu: this bus with destination 'Eindhoven' takes you directly to Leuven (be careful: it also stops in 'Louvain-La-Neuve', which is a different place). The bus leaves every 2 hours, and it takes 1h20 to reach Leuven. Prices are about €12.00 for a one-way ticket.Please note that bookings are mandatory– you won’t be allowed to just hop on the bus.The bus will stop in Leuven at Naamsepoort, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the Irish College.
*Airport Shuttle: this bus takes you in 45 min from the airport to the railway station of 'Brussel-Zuid' ('Bruxelles-Midi') where you can take the train to Leuven. This bus departs every 30 min and will cost about €13.00 for a one-way ticket.
-Of course, taxis are available at the exit terminal, though a ride to Leuven can be quite expensive.
By Train
The city of Leuven is located close to Brussels and has convenient and easy international access by railway. The Thalys high speed train (TGV) links Brussels South to Paris North station (1h20min) and Paris CDG Airport (1h), while the Eurostar high speed train connects it to London St. Pancras International Station (2h25min), via Lille (40min). The Thalys trains also connect Brussels to Amsterdam (2h45min), Rotterdam (1h40min), Aachen (1h35min) and Köln/Cologne (2h20min), among others. There are also direct Inter-City trains between Brussels and the German cities Frankfurt-am-Main (3h35min), via Aachen (1h30min), Cologne (2h10min), Bonn (2h30min) and Limburg-an-der-Lahn (2h55min).Trains arrive in the station 'Bruxelles-Midi'/'Brussel-Zuid'. There is a regular train service between 'Bruxelles-Midi' and 'Leuven', which takes about 25 minutes (with direction 'Eupen', 'Genk' or 'Leuven'). A one-way ticket from Brussels to Leuven will cost €5.00. Be careful: make sure that you take a train which stops in 'Leuven' (in French: 'Louvain'). Several trains have as destination 'Louvain-La-Neuve', which is a different university town.
Further information about train times can be found on the Belgian Railways website.
The Leuven central station is a beautiful 25 minute walk away from the Leuven Institute for Irish Studies. (map)
By Bus/Coach
Eurolines offers a (daily) bus service to Brussels, and for some routes also Leuven, from all major cities in 29 European countries. Check out their website for more details.By Car
Leuven-Brussels = 30 km, from Brussels there are motorways to the most important Belgian cities and to important cities in the neighbouring countries. Leuven is at the junction of the E40 highway (Brussel/Bruxelles – Leuven/Louvain – Luik/Liège – Aachen (D) – Köln (D)) and the E314-A2 highway (Leuven - Hasselt - Genk - Maastricht (NL) – Aachen (D)). Leave the E314 at exit 15. That is the N264 direction Leuven.It can be very difficult to find a parking spot in the city centre of Leuven and parking durations are typically limited to a maximum of 1 or 2 hours. Parking fees are strictly enforced by the police. Some hotels have a private parking at a reasonable rate. There are however free parkings outside the city centre and underground parkings in the city center.
Underground parkings in the city center:
There are a number of underground parkings where parking for longer periods is possible, rates of € 2 per hour or € 12 – 20 per day should be taken into account. A congress card can be purchased for € 55 at the entrance of parking Ladeuze, allowing access for one week.
- Parking Ladeuze: 740 places
Address: Ladeuzeplein 20
Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
15 minutes walk (800m) from the conference venue (map) - Heilig Hart: 447 places
Address: Naamsestraat 102/c
Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
10 minutes walk from the conference venue (map) - De Bond (at railway station) 385 places, underground
Address: Martelarenplein 18 (entry from the tunnel)
Opening hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
25 minutes walk from the conference venue (map)
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