By taxi
Licensed taxi's have yellow-and-blue or the older red-and-white colors on top. They can be found mostly at the airport. One-way to Leuven usually takes 20' if traffic isn't dense and costs about â¬55.
By bus
There are bus lines from the cities around Leuven Brussels, Tienen, Aarschot, Mechelen, Diest and Wavre, but connections by train are usually faster and cost about the same. Buses are sometimes faster if you want to go to Herentals, Turnhout, Geel or other towns in the Campine region.
By car
Leuven can be conveniently reached by car. The E40 highway runs from Brussels via Leuven to Liège, whereas the E314 highway links Leuven with the province of Limburg and with Maastricht and Aachen, at about 1 hour distance. The city has recently installed a Parking Guidance System that guides you to the larger parkings in the city centre. Look for the electronic signs on the city ring road.
It is advised not to start looking for a free parking spot on the street, since it's expensive and the many one-way streets can be a real maze when you're driving.
Note that the speed limit in and around the city is 50 km/h, or 30 km/h in certain areas. Your chances of getting a ticket when crossing the speed limit, even slightly, are close to 100%, especially on the ring road.
By plane
Land at Brussels Airport (http://www.brusselsairport.be), which services Europe, America, Africa and Asia. The airport is quite busy and also has a lot of low-cost carriers.
There is a train and bus station on the Airport itself - follow the signs! Suburban trains to Leuven a ride of 13 minutes run every half hour on weekdays and every hour in the weekend. Taxis wait at the arrivals area.
Travel time to Leuven is about 20' by car with little traffic and 13' by train.
More low-cost carriers arrive at Brussels South Charleroi Airport (http://www.charleroi-airp...) but travel time to Leuven is considerably longer 1,5h. You can purchase a special bus+train ticket for ⬠11,40 that will enable you to take the bus from Charleroi airport to Charleroi railway station, and from there on to Leuven train station. There is no direct train link between Leuven and Charleroi; you have to change trains in Brussels. More information on the airport's website.
By train
Leuven's railway station is one of the busiest of Belgium. There are frequent direct trains to and from:
Brussels Airport 13 minutes
Brussels Brussels North: 18 minutes; Brussels Central: 24 minutes; Brussels Zuid/Midi: 30 minutes
Mechelen 20 minutes, Lier and Antwerp 50 minutes
Ghent 1 hour and Bruges 1 hour 20 minutes
The Flemish coast, with trains to Ostend, Knokke and Blankenberge 1 hour 30 minutes and De Panne 2 hours and 30 minutes
Aalst, Sint-Niklaas and Courtray to the West
Aarschot, Diest, Tienen, Sint-Truiden, Hasselt, Genk and Tongeren to the East
Liege 1 hour, Verviers and Eupen 1 hour 30 minutes in the eastern part of Wallonia
Mons 1 hour 30 minutes, Nivelles and Soignies in the western part of Wallonia
Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, where there is a connection with the train to Namur and Luxembourg
Almost all cities can be reached by train through the Brussels North or Brussels Zuid/Midi hub.Thalys and Eurostar trains depart from Brussels Zuid/Midi.