You are here: Dept. of Mathematics How to get to the department?

How to get to the department?

By Car

Via highway E314 (A2)

Take exit Leuven (nr. 15). At the second traffic lights, turn right into Celestijnenlaan (Campus Arenberg). At your right side, you notice IMEC. Immediately after IMEC turn right, direction Arenberg III. The Department of Mathematics is situated on campus Arenberg III, in building B.

Your best bet for a parking spot is the big blue parking zone between buildings D and G on the map below, though quite offen some parking spaces are available near buildings M and N.

Via highway E40 (from Brussels or Luik)

From the highway E40 take exit Leuven. This takes you onto the highway E314 (A2). Immediately take exit Leuven (nr. 15). Continue as above.

From the center of Leuven

Leave Leuven from Kapucijnenvoer (between Naamsepoort and Tervuursepoort) in the direction of the  E40. Continue about 800 meters, then turn left at the first traffic lights (Campus Arenberg). You enter Celestijnenlaan. Continue as above.

arenbergIII.jpg

(Click on the map to obtain a larger version)

A note for GPS users

Many car navigation systems have trouble finding the entrance to the campus. The best strategy is to enter "Heverlee" as the city (or Leuven if your navigation system doesn't know Heverlee) and then navigate to the intersection of the "Celestijnenlaan" and the "Kapeldreef". From there on you can follow the green loop on the map above to access the parking zones.

By airplane

There are two major airports in Belgium: Brussels Airport (BRU), the main airport situated close to Brussels, and Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), operated by low cost airlines as Jet4you, Onair, Ryanair and Wizzair.

As Leuven is very close to Brussels' main airport, we advise you to fly to this airport. It takes at least 2 hours to get from Charleroi to Leuven, but the direct train connection from Brussels Airport takes you to Leuven in about 15 minutes. Please be aware that certain low cost airlines will tend to pretend they fly to Brussels, but they actually mean Charleroi airport. At Brussels' airport you can either take a taxi, train and even a bus which brings you directly to the university (see below).

By train

There is one general remark for coming to Leuven by train. Be sure you don't take a train to "Louvain-la-Neuve", those will lead you to the U.C.Louvain instead of to Leuven. To make it more confusing, when the Belgian railways talk about Leuven in French, they use Louvain. If they talk about Louvain-la-Neuve, they always mention the full name.

Departing from Brussels airport

From Brussels airport, you can take a direct train to Leuven. Go to the -1 floor, where you can buy tickets. If you take a direct train to Leuven, it will take about 15 minutes to arrive in Leuven station. In the weekends there is only 1 direct train per hour to Leuven (in the week there are 2 per hour). So, if you arrive in the weekends and if you missed the train by a couple of minutes, it might be faster to go to Brussels and take a train to Leuven from there. Ask the railway staff for information.

Other connections

  • If you arrive in Brussels South Station by a high speed train (Eurostar, TGV, Thalys), you can take a direct train to Leuven.
  • People coming from the Netherlands by Antwerp might find it easier changing in Antwerp or Mechelen, depending on the type of train (Thalys or international train).
  • People coming from Germany by high speed train might find it easier changing in Liège (Guillemins) and taking a direct train to Leuven from there onwards.

For more information about the train hours, please visit the site of the Belgian railways.

Local transport in Leuven

By bus

In Leuven take bus number 2, direction "Campus". Tickets are sold on the bus. The bus stops at several places as the central square (Fochplein) and at the station. For information and a schedule, take a look at the website of De Lijn. Make sure the bus indicates "Campus" as destination. Get off at the last exit, exit "Campus". This exit is situated on campus Arenberg III, next to building A on the map and near building B, the Department of Mathematics.

There is also a direct connection between the railway station and campus (bus number 616). Ask the driver to stop at "Campus Arenberg III". This bus also runs (from and to) Brussels airport. It takes quite long (about 1 hour), but it could be more convenient if you want to go directly from the airport to campus or the other way around. See the website of De Lijn for more information.

By taxi

From Leuven center or Leuven station, a taxi drive to campus will cost about 10 euro.

Walking

If you have time and the weather is nice, you might consider walking to campus and in the city center. It is quite nice. Take a look at this map.