Martin's Klooster

Leuven is a land of superlatives. It boasts the oldest Catholic university in the world, which also happens to be the largest university in the country. Then there’s the longest bar in Europe, which is within staggering distance of the smallest bar in Belgium. Martin’s Klooster is a bit harder to quantify—but by our metrics it’s the top hotel in town.

Leuven is inherently a pretty mellow place, and the Klooster is nothing if not relaxed. Individually decorated but generally sharing the same calming brown-and-beige palate, the bedrooms tend to whisper rather than shout. There are 40 rooms in all, including two fashioned from the original sixteenth-century towers. Some even feature fireplaces, latticed windows, and stained glass, which echo the building’s past lives as a convent and private residence for a member of the royal court. Common spaces are cozy, full of cushiony chairs and conversation nooks.

An interior courtyard heightens the sense of peacefulness, as does the car-free cobbled street that borders the Klooster’s exterior. Most of Leuven’s noteworthy sites are within walking distance, from the lively Old Market to the extremely ornate City Hall. And for those who simply can’t get enough, tours of the Stella Artois brewery, in operation since 1366, and the tiny, artisanal, and much, much younger Domus brewery are available as well.