Leuven

Leuven is the capital of Flemish Brabant, about 25 kilometres east of Brussels, and has been a university city since 1425, the oldest in the Low Countries. Rather more than a hundred thousand people live in the municipality, which takes in Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal alongside Leuven proper. The student body shapes the city, and the brewing tradition that grew up alongside it is still its best-known export: Sebastien Artois became master brewer at the Den Horn brewery in 1708, and the world’s largest brewer has its headquarters here now. The centre is flat and walkable, and quietest in the weeks when term is out.