** Belgium has a 73% vaccination rate. No sanitary pass is needed for musea, swimming pools, restaurants, trains, etc. A face mask is required at indoor events and on public transport. Our family (except Esra 10yo) is fully vaccinated. **

About our house

° an open plan living area, a fully equipped kitchen, four bedrooms (one kingsize bed, three single beds), office space, bathroom, two toilets, a terrace and a city garden which opens to a playground & a table tennis (we have rackets)
° situated within a 15 min walk of the historical center of Leuven (http://www.visitleuven.be/en). A friendly lady cat that is often inside (not allowed to sleep on the beds, has her own blanket for the sofa). Rabbits in the garden.

We do not have cable television but we do have wifi, a dvd player with dvd's, and board games and toys!

We have a share in an ecological vegetable farm and in a local dairy farm nearby. You can pick up (prepaid) vegetables, cheese and yogurt in our street/next street for free! [between April and November].

° a nice ecological farmers shop is at a 5min walk and a great eco-cooperative is at a 15min walk.
° regular supermarkets at 10min walk, same for baker, butcher, etc

° smoke - shoe free!

ABOUT LEUVEN

° A medieval university city built around the river 'Dijle'
- Unesco World Heritage - beguinages https://www.visitleuven.be/nl/groot-begijnhof
- gothic townhall and cobble stoned car-free market places - www.visitleuven.be/nl/bezienswaardigheden
- 13th century botanical garden
- 12th century city walls with walking paths -
- fine arts museum M - https://www.mleuven.be/en/home
- roman, baroc and gothic churches - https://www.erfgoedcelleuven.be/nl/monumenten-en-sites/kerken
- abbey of the Park, abbey of Vlierbeek, Kaiser's abbey
- great coffee culture (https://mokcoffee.be/)
- micro beer breweries (https://domusleuven.be/en/huisbrouwerij/)
- three weekly markets, and tons of very affordable restaurants (we leave our favourites!)
- brewery bike rides, canoe/kajak/SUP at the Dijle, guided walks - www.leuvenleisure.com/en/
- adventure parc (free entrance) and open air swimming pool - www.vlaamsbrabant.be/vrije-tijd-cultuur/provinciedomeinen/kessello/attracties-en-recreatiemogelijkheden/index.jsp
- swimming paradise and indoor playworld - https://www.sportoase.be/nl/philipssite

GREEN SURROUNDINGS OF LEUVEN:

° wood and forests: Heverleebos, Lindenbos, Chartreuzebos, and Meerdaelwoud - https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerdaalwoud,_Heverleebos_en_Egenhovenbos
° canal Leuven - Mechelen with biking and walking paths
° Leuven is a bike lover's dream with tons of well signposted cycling routes - compose your own route with the cycle nodes network - www.fietsroute.org/Cycle-Networks.php [we can offer you bikes]
° Leuven has plenty of great walking paths - compose your own track with the walking nodes network - www.wandelknooppunt.be/routeplanner

Watch one of the GR hiking trails in the area! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4z2YBXCwys&feature=youtu.be

° Natural Preservation Area Doode Bemde - www.natuurpunt.be/natuurgebied/doode-bemde
° walking in the vineyards at Houwaert - www.toerismevlaamsbrabant.be/producten/bezoeken/bezienswaardigheden/wijndomein-houwaartse-wijngaard/
° Natural Preservation Area 'Mene-Jordaanvallei' - www.natuurpunt.be/natuurgebied/mene-jordaanvallei
° Natural Preservation Area 'Hagelandse vallei' - www.natuurpunt.be/natuurgebied/hagelandse-vallei

30MIN BY CAR/TRAIN:

° BRUSSELS - https://visit.brussels/en

• 100+ musea (Comic Museum, Natural History, Train World, Auto World, Chocolate Museum, ...)
• Atomium - https://atomium.be/home/cover?lang=en
• Grand Place Unesco World Heritage Site - https://visit.brussels/en/place/Grand-Place
• European Parlement

° MECHELEN - www.mechelen.be

• medieval city with vibrant atmosphere
• Kazerne Dossin: museum, memorial and documentation center on the transportation of Jewish and Roma people during WWII - https://www.kazernedossin.eu/EN/
• Animal and adventure parc Planckendael - https://www.zooplanckendael.be/en/
• Natural Preservation Area 'Rivers of Mechelen'

° CASTLES

• Caslte of Arenberg (10min by car), at the river Dijle, now part of the university campus
• Castle of Horst (25 min by car), a medieval castle surrounded by water and wood
• Castle of Meise and Botanical Cardens (35 min by car) - https://www.plantentuinmeise.be/en/
• Castle of Gaasbeek and Castel of Beersel (50 min by car)

° AMUSEMENT PARK WALIBI - www.walibi.be/en

• attractions
• water park Aqualibie (swimming paradise)

1h BY CAR/TRAIN

° ANTWERP - www.visitantwerpen.be/en

• Historic center with cathedral, renaissance town hall Unesco Heritage, narrow streets, Grand-Place
• Rubens house - https://www.rubenshuis.be/en
• Antwerp Zoo - http://www.zooantwerpen.be/en
• Chocolate Nation
• Art Nouveau Central Station ranked as one of the most beautiful train stations in the world
• 12th century Fortress 'Het Steen' at the river Schelde
• Red Star Line Museum, Contemporary Art Museum, Photo Museum, Home of Diamonds, Fashion Museum,...

° NAMEN, LUIK AND DINANT: CITIES IN THE FRENCH SPEAKING PART OF BELGIUM

• Namen/Namur in French: cruises on the river Meuse and Sambre - www.namurtourisme.be/en/
• 2000 years old Citadel in Namur and in Dinant - www.citadellededinant.be/en/
• Cathedral and Belfry in Namur
• Préhistomuseum and Archéoforum in Luik (Liège in French) - www.visitezliege.be/en
• Military heritage of Namur - 9 forts
• Many castles in the area of river Meuse - https://www.valleedelameuse-tourisme.be/vie-de-chateau.html?lang=fr
• Plenty of hiking paths

° BOKRIJK - www.bokrijk.be/en
* Historal open air museum showing how people lived in Belgium in the middle-ages with actors
* Medieval children games and workshops woodcarving, fire making, etc
* Huge (and free) playground

1H30 or more away

° BRUGES (1h30)
* Venice of the North!

° BELGIAN COAST (2h)

• Natural Sea Preservation Area 'Het Zwin' - www.zwin.be
• WWII German Atlantikwall - www.raversyde.be/en/atlantikwall

°BELGIAN ARDENNES (south part, close to France, French-speaking, very hilly and rocky) 1h30

• Caves and wildlife park of Han - grotte-de-han.be/en
• Parc de Furfooz www.visitardenne.com/en/adventures-ardennes/outdoor-adventures/parc-de-furfooz
• Thermal baths of Spa
• Kayakking at river Lesse

ABOUT US

° We are a family who love hiking, good food, sustainable living, coffee bars (Stefaan), reading (all), yoga & pilates (the ladies), playing sax (Noah), dancing (Esra), and sewing (Anna). We lived abroad (Canada & Sweden), and currently enjoy all the pleasures of Leuven - a charming university city nestled in green and close to art cities and the capital.

° We offer you a tidy, clean and welcoming place, a fridge with local goodies and a large box with information.

° Preference for cleanliness and a considerate way in treating belongings. We will take very good care for your house
and are in search for swappers with the same mindset :-).

° Rabbits + Tiby the cuddly tiger cat hope to be feeded. Cat is often indoor but is not allowed on the beds/furniture and has her own blanket on the sofa.

Swap history (Intervac + Homelink)

2012: Waspik (NL)
2013: Vancouver Island (CA), Versailles (FR)
2014: Paris (FR), Dresden (DE)
2016: Boncelles (BE), Helsinki (FI), Freudenstadt (DE), Altensteig (DE), Mariestad (SE)
2017: Bruges (BE), Tecklenburg (DE), Hasselt (BE), Kristinehamn (SE), Berlin (DE), Stockholm (SE)
2018: Paris (FR)
2019: Berlin (DE), Eschbach (DE)
2020: Paris (FR), Hebden Bridge (UK -- cancelled due to COVID)
2021: French Alps (FR -- cancelled due to COVID)

Welcome to Leuven!