Kortrijk

Kortrijk (French: Courtrai, sometimes referred to in English as Courtray) is a city in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the arrondissement of Kortrijk, which has about 285,000 inhabitants (2014). The wider municipality comprises the city of Kortrijk proper and the towns of Aalbeke, Bellegem, Bissegem, Heule, Kooigem, Marke, and Rollegem.

The city is on the Leie River, 42 km (26 miles) southwest of Ghent and 25 km (15 miles) northeast of Lille in France. Kortrijk and Lille are part of the same transnational Eurodistrict urban area with around 1,900,000 inhabitants.

As the biggest city of southern West Flanders, Kortrijk has many schools, a university, hospitals and shopping streets.

Understand
Kortrijk is a medium-sized city with a good balance of tradition and innovation/modernism. It has always been famous for shopping, and in 2010 a big shopping centre was opened in the heart of the city. There are traffic-free shopping zones, and lots of historical sites in the city centre. Outside the centre there are some less developed neighbourhoods, though none are really bad.

Kortrijk is a rather safe city. Suburbs/satellite cities like Menen have to endure mainly burglary criminality from youth and gangsters, but Kortrijk is rather safe.

The city is known as the Guldensporenstad (City of the Golden Spurs), after the battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. It used to be the centre of the linen industry and is still known as an important textile industry region.

Talk
As Kortrijk is a part of Flanders, the main language is Dutch. Many of the inhabitants will be happy to answer you in English or if you ask beforehand, in French, although automatically starting a discussion in French could offend some of the locals. Some older people speak a little German.

By train
The is in the centre of the city. Kortrijk is an important node in Flanders' railroad network.
 * Direct connections from Brussels and Ghent. Kortrijk is 1 hour and 20 minutes away from both Brussels and 26 to 35 minutes from Ghent, depending on the type of train you take. So make sure to take the quicker train, unless you like to spend time in trains.
 * The French city of Lille is a train ride of 40 minutes away from Kortrijk. Occasionally, this will require a change in the Belgian/Walloon border town of Mouscron. Kortrijk can also be reached from Lille by taking a Tournai train and changing at Froyennes.
 * There are also direct connections to and from Ghent and Bruges. The train covers the distance in 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

High speed train lines do not stop in Kortrijk. There is a direct connection to the Lille Flandres and Lille Europe train station (30 minutes by train) however. Accessing Kortrijk from England/Paris through stopping in Lille is easier and quicker to do than going to Brussels and taking the regional train in Brussels.

By bus
Next to the train station there is a large bus station, giving access to regional bus lines and a well-constructed city bus network. The Flemish national bus company, De Lijn, has lines to Kortrijk from Mouscron, Roeselare, Waregem and other neighbouring towns. For more information regarding different timetables (only available in Dutch): https://www.delijn.be.

By car
Kortrijk has an inner beltway, the R8. This highway is connected to the A19 (Ypres/Ieper), E403 (Bruges/Brugge, Ostend/Oostende, Tournai/Doornik) and the E17 (Lille/Rijsel, Ghent/Gent, Antwerp/Antwerpen, Brussels/Brussel).

By plane

 * Daily connections by train to Brussels Airport . Lille Airport can also be an option.
 * Daily connections by train to Brussels Airport . Lille Airport can also be an option.

Get around
Kortrijk has a well-formed bus system, offering easy transport to main spots like Kortrijk Xpo and most surrounding cities.

Historical buildings






Do

 * Football: KV Kortrjik play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground Guldensporen Stadion (capacity 9400) is 1 km northwest of town centre.
 * Football: KV Kortrjik play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground Guldensporen Stadion (capacity 9400) is 1 km northwest of town centre.
 * Football: KV Kortrjik play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground Guldensporen Stadion (capacity 9400) is 1 km northwest of town centre.

Buy
Kortrijk offers one of the biggest car free areas in Belgium where one can shop or have drink on a nice terrace. One of these streets, the Korte Steenstraat, was the very first pedestrian street in Belgium.



Drink

 * The typical place to party is the end of the Burgemeester Reynaertstraat close to the station. By the local public this is called 'Het Straatje', which stands for 'the little street'. This is a typical place for going out on Thursday night and in the weekend. There are around seven bars, which typical have loud music and are for dancing.
 * If you're keen to enjoy a quiet drink, a place to go is the Vlasmarkt, on a minute walk from The Belfry. A handful of bars there are very nice designed and enjoyable to visit, and usually, they are less expensive then the bars on the Market Place. This place is frequented by locals.

Connect
As of July 2022, Kortrijk has 4G from Base / Telenet and Orange, and 5G from Proximus / Scarlet. Wifi is widely available in public places.

Stay safe

 * Generally safe, small unsafe areas near the station (at night) and the Venning, a local neighbourhood.
 * The local police station is at the end of the street in front of the train station (next to Domino's Pizza). Most of the police officers speak fluent Dutch/English/French.
 * Small crimes (vandalism) or information (directions) can easily be reported/asked at some of the city's "guards", who just walk around dressed in purple.

Go next
Kortrijk is on the "Vlaanderen Fietsroute", a cycling network through Flanders, a network of 800 km guiding you through Flanders nicest spots by bike.


 * Brussels — Belgian and European capital.
 * Antwerp — a large and active harbor city, famous for its fashion and diamonds.
 * Ghent — An important and vibrant university city with beautiful architecture, often overlooked by tourists who visit Brugge or Brussels.
 * Bruges — The famous capital of West-Flanders. The entire city centre is Unesco Heritage. Often called: "Venice of the north", due to the many canals and scenic centre.
 * Ypres — Pretty town famous for World War I battles.
 * Lille — French big city with Flemish roots, forms a metropolitan area with Kortrijk.
 * Tournai (Dutch: Doornik) — only 30-35 minutes away by train in French-speaking Wallonia.