Tripadvisor - Things to do

Dear Erasmus students,

You can also check on
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g188673-Activities-Kortrijk_West_Flanders_Province.html

Kortrijk Wi-fi

Dear Erasmus students,

In the centre of the city there is free Wi-Fi, you just have to log in with your Facebook.

When you get outside of the train station - toward perron 1(the centre) you can immediately connect to the internet :)

Google maps

Dear Erasmus students,

You can download offline areas on Google maps on your phone so you can find your way even without internet.
It is very easy and useful :)

Lost in translation

Dear Erasmus students,

The language spoken here is Dutch-Flemish and Kortrijk has it's own dialect.
In fact each region has it's own dialect.
But don't worry, most of the people also speak English and French.

It would be good for you to learn some words in Dutch to make your daily life here a bit easier, for example when you go shopping.

Here is a site from where I started learning Dutch:
http://www.learndutch.org/courses/dutch-vocabulary-beginners/

Also there is a dictionary you can install on your phone that works without internet :)

Getting fat in Kortrijk

Dear Erasmus students,

In Belgium the most popular foods are fries with mayo (I personally prefer the Samurai sauce) and waffles, so be ready to gain some weight :)

Some fries places:

• Frituur Bossuwé (Stationsplein)

Some burger places:

• Paul's Boutique (Paul's Fresh Food Boutique, Kleine Sint-Jansstraat, Kortrijk) (Yanto's, Doorniksesteenweg, Kortrijk) (Paul's Boutique (Appel) Zandstraat 19, 8500 Kortrijk)
• De Petaterie (Sint-Amandsplein, Kortrijk)
• Louis' Burger Bar Kortrijk
• JACK Premium Burgers Kortrijk

Some pizza places:

• Domino's Pizza
• Pizza Hut (personally I really don't like the pizza they have here) 

Some pitta(shaorma) places:

• The Pitta House (located in the same street as the bars)
• Pitta Bodrum (very close to the residence, just over the bridge)

Bars/nightlife in Kortrijk

Dear Erasmus students,

The most famous place in Kortrijk for the nightlife is Het Straatje (literally translated as the little street) - which is a little street close to the train station where you can find the following bars:

• Den Bras - alternative, not a dancing place
• Den Trap - alternative, sometimes there are nice parties where you can dance
• De Geverfde Vogel - good dancing music, good dancing place
• Cafe 56 - dancing place
• De Luxe - dancing place
• Stradivarius - dancing place

Then you have Vlaasmarkt with:

• The Gouden Aap - good music
• Gainsbar
• Ziggy

Other places in Kortrijk:

• deDingen (Budastraat) - really cosy, nice cafe
• Balthazar (Paleisstraat)
• Vagant (Voorstraat) - nice music, dancing place
• Le Chat Noir (Kapittelstraat) - really cool, alternative place
• La Bodeguita del Medio (Stationsstraat) - for the cocktail lovers
• Cafe des Arts (Hazelaarstraat)
• 't Kanon (Doorniksesteenweg)
• Bootel Ahoi (Handelskaai 1) - this is actually a hotel boat but you can just go have drinks on the boat
• Staminee Boulevard (Groeningelaan 15 )
• Shooters - here you can play pool, sometimes they organise karaoke
• De Maxx - you can play pool and bowling

A let's call it "real club" is Diedjes http://www.diedjies.be/
From what I understood it is open only on Sundays so be careful with the hangover on Monday.
It is located in Kuurne, about 20 minutes by bike.

There is also an event hall called De Kreun(Conservatoriumplein 1)where a lot of concerts and parties take place.

The best way to know what kind of events they all organise is just to like them on Facebook.

There might be more places but these are the ones I know.
Feel free to comment if you find other nice places and I will add them.

Shops in Kortrijk

Dear Erasmus students,

These are the most famous supermarkets that you will find in Kortrijk:

• Colruyt - 10minutes walking from the residence (Sint-Sebastiaanslaan 2)
• Lild - 10minutes walking from the residence (Sint-Sebastiaanslaan 3)
• Carrefour - 15minutes walking (Burgemeester Vercruysselaan 22) & 15minutes with the bus (Walle 2)
• Delhaize - 15min walking (Steenpoort 2-this is a small one) & 15min with the bus(Pater Beckstraat 47)
• Albert Heijn - 15 min with the bus located in the Ring shopping mall (Ringlaan 34)
• Aldi - 17 minutes by bus (Sint-Denijsestraat 103) & 25 minutes walking (Gentsesteenweg 68)

Keep in mind that they usually close at 8pm during the week and on Sundays just Carrefour and Delhaize are open till around 12.
If you want to see the exact schedule just Google for openinsguren (opening hours) and you will find the exact schedule of each shop.
Another option is the nachtwinkels(night shops) and other shops where you can find food also at night and on Sundays.
There is a big Arab shop close to the residence where you can find a lot of things.

!If you don't feel like cooking but want to eat something good The Arab shop, Carrefour and Delhaize sell already cooked chicken for around 6 euros and they are delicious!

There are two shopping malls in Kortrijk:

• K in Kortrijk - located in the centre of Kortrijk: http://www.k-in-kortrijk.be/
• Ringlaan - located a bit further, in Kuurne: http://www.ringshopping.be/

There you can find H&M, ZARA, etc
They are also normally closed on Sundays.

Things for your room you can find in:

• Euroshop - where you can find a lot of things for your room, for the kitchen, self care etc: http://www.euroshop.be/fr/storepickup/euro-shop-kortrijk/
• Action - where you can find some things to eat but a lot of other stuff for your room: https://www.action.com/nl-be/fr/locations/kortrijk/
• Zeeman: https://www.zeeman.com/fr_be/

Another shops where they have make-up, creams, shampoos etc is Kruidvat: https://www.kruidvat.be/fr/
Sometimes they have offers: buy one & get the 2nd half price; buy two & get 4.