Conference Site

Leuven is one of Europe's most ancient university towns, and is ideally located. Straddling the banks of the navigable Dijle River and the trade route from Bruges to the Rhine territories, Leuven grew to become a major trade and textile center. The first references to the town can be traced back as far as the 9th century. It was around the 11th-12th century that Leuven began to develop as an important trading centre.

Perhaps Leuven is best known for its university: de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V, the K.U.Leuven is the oldest university in the Low Countries. Town and university enjoyed many periods of prosperity. The town hall, the famous 'Begijnhof', the churches, cloisters and colleges stand silent witness to those days and make Leuven the interesting place it is. Leuven is also the home of the famous brewery Stella Artois.

Leuven is only 25 km away from Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the center of the European Union. Leuven is located very centrally in Flanders and in Belgium and is an ideal starting point for many excursions.

Leuven is a small town. Its diameter does not exceed a 25 minutes walk. The Conference will take place in the old college "De Valk", a classicist building from the 18th century, situated right in the centre of Leuven at only 100 meter of the town hall. Hotels and restaurants are situated within walking distance of the conference site.

The precise address of the conference building is:

College De Valk
Tiensestraat 41
B- 3000 Leuven

A map of the location can be found here ("De Valk" is situated in the red circle). This map also gives an overview of the town. To see more details, simply click on the region you want to see, and the program returns you a more detailed map.

Travel Information

by plane ...

The national airport (ZAVENTEM) is at about 25 km from Leuven. You can take a TAXI, but this is quite expensive (approximately 50 euro). You can also take the train, which leaves directly form the airport (see instructions below).
To get from North America to Belgium you might consider flying to London first and taking the Eurostar there (direct train to Brussels).
For flight info from and to Brussels airport, please consult the Brussels airport website.

by train ...

There is a direct train connection from Brussels Airport to Leuven. Trains depart 19 minutes past the hour (destination LANDEN) and 37 minutes past the hour (destination LEUVEN) from 5:19u to 23:37u; the voyage takes about 15 minutes and costs € 3.00. The train station is located in the basement (level -1) of the aiport terminal building. If you depart from somewhere else, detailed timetable information is available on the Belgian Railways (SNCB/NMBS) website. The railway station in Leuven is located here.

by car ...

North-West	West + South-West	South	South-East	(North-)East
Antwerpen, Amsterdam	Gent, Oostende, Paris	Luxembourg	Liege	Hasselt, Aachen, Köln
Ring around Antwerpen, direction Brussel (E19)	In Gent, direction Brussel (E40)	Direction Namur, Brussel (E425)	Direction Brussel (E40)	Direction Leuven & Brussel (A2)
You arrive at the Ring around Brussel, follow direction Luik/Liege (E40). After ten km, exit Leuven, Genk, Aachen (A2).			Take the exit Leuven, Genk, Hasselt (A2)	Exit Brussel, direction Leuven
Immediately leave the A2 (direction Leuven). After 4 km, you arrive at the red circle at the bottom of this map				You arrive at the red circle at the left side of this map

Attention:

If you want to drive to your hotel, mind the traffic loops in Leuven. Enter Leuven as close to your hotel as possible.

Social Events

Date	Event
Tue April 18th 2006, 19:00	Welcome reception.
Wed April 19th 2006, 17:00	Guided tour of Leuven and city hall.
Wed April 19th 2006, 19:00	Reception at the city hall (first picture on this page), hosted by our mayor Louis Tobback.
Thu April 20th 2006, 19:00	Conference dinner at the Faculty Club.

Tourist Information

On the following page you'll find links to interesting sites for tourists.