Leuven: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Leuven is a city of 101,032 people in Belgium (Flanders), 28 m (92 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Brussels Airport (BRU), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre.
Key facts
Daylight in Leuven runs from about 8 h a day in late December to 16 h 36 min in late June (computed for 50.88° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Leuven is served by 6 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Brussels Airport (BRU), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre, whose 11,936-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL, 49 km), Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST, 75 km), Eindhoven Airport (EIN, 79 km), Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 38 km), Liège Airport (LGG, 59 km).
Flights to Leuven: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Leuven · Driving and car hire
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- London, 343 km (United Kingdom) — flights · buses · car rental
- Paris, 281 km (France) — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Köln, 158 km (Germany) — flights · tours
- Brussels, 25 km — tours
- Rotterdam, 117 km (The Netherlands) — tours
- Amsterdam, 167 km (The Netherlands) — tours
- Frankfurt am Main, 294 km (Germany) — tours
- Düsseldorf, 150 km (Germany)
- Stuttgart, 397 km (Germany)
- Essen, 173 km (Germany)
Common questions
Which airport serves Leuven?
Brussels Airport (BRU), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre, plus 5 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Leuven?
About 101,032 people live in Leuven (GeoNames).
What time zone is Leuven in?
Europe/Brussels, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Leuven?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Leuven?
London (343 km), Paris (281 km), Köln (158 km), Brussels (25 km), Rotterdam (117 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.