Stadhuis

Leuven's main sight is the 15th-century Stadhuis. This flamboyant late-Gothic structure resembles an overblown wedding cake full of terraced turrets, delicate statues, fancy stonework and colourful flags. The 236 statues represent prominent locals throughout the ages - scholars, artists and nobility - but were added as an afterthought in the mid-19th century.

Incredibly, the stadhuis survived relatively unscathed during the wars (although a bomb, which failed to explode, scoured part of the façade). There's not all that much to see inside; most notable are the few sculptures by Constantin Meunier. More of Meunier's work is located in Minderbroedersvest, where he had a workshop, and there's another statue, Pater Damiaan, in Brusselsestraat.