Is Leuven Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

Leuven is generally safe for solo female travelers. There's a low crime rate, and local people are friendly and tolerant, often speaking English. The city is well-lit and public transport is reliable. However, like any city, it is advised to take usual precautions, avoid deserted areas at night and keep an eye on your belongings.

Safety rating

3.2 /5

Based on 1 experience

4.5 /5

Based on research and crime data

Safety overview

Safety at night:Safe

Leuven is largely a student city, so it's often bustling with activities till late at night. Luckily, it is quite safe due to the well-lit streets, regular police patrols and low crime rate. However, as in any city, it is always advised to stay vigilant and avoid deserted lanes and parks after dark.

Public transportation: Very safe

Public transportation in Leuven is quite efficient and secure. It offers various modes from buses, trains and trams which run on a regular basis. The community is known to be very friendly and English is widely spoken making communication easier. Even during late hours, the streets are well lit - this usually helps increase the feeling of personal safety when moving from a point of disembarkation to a destination. It is however still important to remain vigilant, especially in crowded places

Street harassment: Low

Leuven tends to be a very safe city overall, even for solo female travelers. Instances of street harassment are generally low, with most locals being polite and respectful. Although, like any city, it is not entirely free from such issues, hence practicing usual personal safety measures can make your travel hassle-free.

Petty crimes:Low

Petty crimes like pickpocketing or purse snatching are relatively low in Leuven compared to other European cities. However, it's always advised to be vigilant, particularly in crowded areas or in the evening. The city is generally regarded as safe, especially because of the large student population, and the police are usually prompt and efficient in their duties.

Tap water:Very safe

Drinking tap water in Leuven is safe and of high quality. The country has robust standards for water treatment, and tap water undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it meets health regulations. So, you can definitely fill up your bottle straight from the tap.

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Travel experiences

Overall rating

2.2 /5

based on 1 experience

Rating summary

Things to do

3.2/5

Safety

3.2/5

Food

2.2/5

Budget-friendly

1.4/5

Local experiences

Leuven is definitely worth a visit, small university town, 20 min train ride from Brussels. Small and easily walkable from train station. Must see is the library (inside and outside), one of the most beautiful in Europe and I recommend climbing up the tower for stunning view. Also must see is beguinage and of course the town hall. The biggest beer company in the world is in Leuven(Ab inbev) and of course Stella Artois beer factory. Also surroundings of Leuven are nice with many castles and lakes and abbeys. Highly recommend Abbey of Park, walkable in 45 min from city centers.

Posted: September 5, 2022
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Meet locals in Leuven

Fien

Fien

Speaking

About Me

Hi, Iโ€™m Fien! A 19 year old medical student in Belgium, Leuven. In my holidays I love to travel. I like experiencing all kind of new stuff: food, activities, language, โ€ฆ Iโ€™m down for everything! During the school year I like hanging out with friends, try new coffee places and crocheting.

Countries Iโ€™ve Visited

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape Verde, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Republic, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong Kong, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy, ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Jordan, ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco, ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden, ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab Emirates, ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom

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Emma

Emma

Speaking

About Me

Hi! My name is Emma. I am a teacher from Belgium, and I will be travelling around the world from August 2022 until July 2023. Looking for genuine connections, laughs, stories, experiences.

Countries Iโ€™ve Visited

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombia, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia, ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peru, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom, ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States

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Vinciane

Vinciane

Speaking

About Me

Hey! I'm a young adult dreaming to discover the world and it's cultures. Currently I'm taking a sabbatical, in January I'll leave for my first solo (international) trip to Norway, which I'm dreaming to visit since a very long time. I'll do the whole trip by train. I love to meet new people and exchange with them, maybe we'll meet each other somewhere around the globe?

Countries Iโ€™ve Visited

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Republic, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy, ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands, ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland, ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria

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Stay with locals in Leuven

Bianca

Bianca

Speaking

You can stay for:

2 days

About me

Last month I finished a PhD on apple tree flowering timing under a changing climate and now travel between fruit growing regions in Europe by bike :) Iโ€™m flexible and get along easy with people. Iโ€™ve a long couchsurfing history but am new to this platform :)

Countries Iโ€™ve Visited

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Gibraltar, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy, ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya, ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal, ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland, ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania, ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda, ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฆ Vatican City, ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia, ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom, ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey

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Gitte

Gitte

Speaking

You can stay for:

3 days

About me

Hi! Iโ€™m Gitte, creative data-designer, 23y old. From july-august Iโ€™ll be travelling around north-east Europe. Always in for a good coffee!

Countries Iโ€™ve Visited

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฝ ร…land, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece, ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco, ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands, ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland, ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey, ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia, ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal, ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy, ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria

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Noisevere

Noisevere

Speaking

You can stay for:

2 days

About me

Hello, I'm Noisevere and I'm interested in animals, cinema, dancing, culture, hiking, languages, live music, science, sightseeing, solo travel and writing

Countries Iโ€™ve Visited

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentina, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chile, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Republic, ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El Salvador, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ Honduras, ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary, ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvia, ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonia, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark, ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico, ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands, ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain, ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States

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Safety in Belgium