Aarschot travel guide

Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) (Photo: Johan Bakker, CC BY-SA 3.0)

The beguinage of Aarschot (Photo: Torsade de Pointes, Public domain)

Aarschot is a town in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. It is located halfway between the regional capital and bustling student city Leuven and the smaller town of Diest.

Understand

Large parts of Aarschot got destroyed during the First World War. When the Germans occupied the town a German commander got shot dead on the balcony of the town hall. The German reprisal set a large part of the town on fire and 170 were executed.

• Tourist Office (Toerisme Aarschot), Elisabethlaan 103, ☏ +32 16 56 97 05.

Get in

By train

The

• Aarschot Railway Station is just outside of the city center. There are direct connections to Brussels, Leuven and Antwerp. Aarschot is 13 minutes by train from Leuven.

By bus

The Flemish national bus company, De Lijn, has lines to Diest from for example Leuven, Diest and Tienen. There are also connections to Turnhout, but in these cases the trains are a quicker alternative. For more information regarding different timetables (only available in Dutch): https://www.delijn.be.

By bicycle

There are several very well maintained bicycle networks leading you to the city center without the need of using the regular roads. It will let you discover the beauty of the region.

By car

You can exit the E314 highway at Aarschot, from there on it's only a few minutes to the city center. If you don't like highways you can perfectly follow the N19 national road from Leuven also leading to the city center of Aarschot. There is a large parking lot very near to the historical centre, called Parking Centrum.

By plane

Brussels Airport (BRUIATA) is relatively close and has a direct train connection to Aarschot. The budget airport of Charleroi (CRLIATA) is a bit further away, but may be a worthy alternative if you try to save some money.

See

Church of Our Lady, Jan van Ophemstraat. Some parts of this church date back to the 14th century. The western tower of the church is 85 meters high and thereby towers over the town and the nearby region.

• Beguinage, Begijnhof. Founded in 1259. The last beguine of Aarschot died in 1856. The beguinage is enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
• Orleans Tower (Orleanstoren), Orleanstoren. One of the few remaining bits of the medieval defence wall that once surrounded the town, built between 1360 and 1365. The wall however got destroyed several times and got rebuilt a lot of times. The Aurelianus Tower was renovated in 1990.
• Municipal Museum of Aarschot (Stedelijk Museum Aarschot), Elisabethlaan 103, ☏ +32 16 56 84 51, museum@aarschot.be. Tue-Fri 09:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:30, Sat Sun 14:00-18:00. Closed on Mon and public holidays. This museum depicts the history of Aarschot, from ancient times till right after the Second World War. The museum also has a bar called 't Bruine Café where you can taste one of the beers of the region. Free entrance.

Do

• UGC Cinema, Demervallei 4, ☏ +32 16 56 56 55. The only cinema in Aarschot.

Events

• Fun Days. A three-day music festival in the center of Aarschot, organised since 2005. There are small concerts, a flea fair and several other small activities. Every year it is organised in July.
• Aarschot Volkoren. A free choir festival held every two years. This event is organised since 2011 in September. The next will be in 2019. In the previous edition most choirs were from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Eat

• Ter Bogaerde, Diestsesteenweg 12. Regional and seasonal products at an old watermill

Sleep

• Het huis van peter Mot, Mottestraat 88, ☏ +32 475 66 17 44, bb@hethuisvanpetermot.be. Bed and breakfast located nearby Aarschot.
• Kasteel van Nieuwland, Beemdenstraat 61, ☏ +32 16 56 58 46, info@kasteelvannieuwland.be. A former mansion that now functions as an event location and hotel. The rooms are decorated in an according style.

Go next

• Leuven — this thriving student city is very close.

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