Car hire Kortrijk

Introduction

Kortrijk owes its name to the Romans, who called it Cortoriacum. The city presents itself as the city of the Golden Spurs, after the battle between the Flemish and the French in 1302. The victory in that battle is still celebrated every year on July 11th. Kortrijk has a beautiful historical centre with the medieval Broel towers as the main attraction. Not all buildings are original, incidentally. For instance, the quite Begijnhof was originally built in the 13th century, after which it was destroyed in fires three times. The current complex dates back to the 17th century. Kortrijk also has a name as a centre of art and culture. The co-called Buda island in the river Leie is an artist colony.

Population

The city has over 70,000 inhabitants

Location

Kortrijk is located in the west of Belgium, not far from French cities like Roubaix and Lille. Gent is located some 40 kilometres to the north-east. The city is situated on the river Leie, which flows to Gent from northern France. This river splits up in the centre of Kortrijk and later joins again. The resulting island - the Buda island - is the centre of Kortrijk.

Economy

In earlier times the city's economy was based on the cultivation of flax and associated industries. The city remains an important textile centre where mattresses, tapestries and clothing are produced. In addition, other industries have developed, in particular machinery and metal processing.
Like in the entire Western economy, the service sector plays an important role. Having said that, its share in the city's economy is below the average share in Flanders.

Airports

The West-Flemish Intercommunal Airport Kortrijk-Wevelgem is a small airport that is used above all for business travellers and goods transport.
The national airport of Zaventem near Brussels is located 100 kilometres to the east. Kortrijk is also easy to reach from the airport of Charleroi, which is located at 125 kilometres to the south-east.

Public transport

The train station in the city centre is a public transport junction. In front of this station, the city buses operated by De Lijn depart. Children below six years of age and students travel for free on the city's public transport.

Traffic and parking

Kortrijk is located along the A14 (to Antwerp) and the A19 (to Bruges), which come together to the south-west of the city (Aalbeke junction).

Driving in Kortrijk is easy. Keep in mind that attempts have been made to keep cars out of the city as much as possible, with some parts declared car free zones. The city council has constructed six large car parks around the centre, two of which are underground. Parking in one of these car parks is very cheap (1st hour is free, after that € 2.50 for an entire day). The car parks are indicated on information signs, which makes it easy to find your way to the nearest parking facility. One of the largest and best situated car parks is the Centrumparking Veemarkt.

Hotels

In the city centre there are a few cosy smaller hotels with an excellent price/quality ratio. They are often situated in historical buildings. In addition, there are a few hotels to the south of the A14, located in a more rural environment. Generally speaking, there is no need to book in advance, unless you have a particular hotel in mind.

External Sources

For more information about Kortrijk, we recommend Google, and the following sources:

• Wikipedia, Kortrijk
• City of Kortrijk