Leiden is fifteen minutes from The Hague and half an hour from Amsterdam, and it is the rare Dutch city where the reason for everything is a single event. In 1574 the city survived a Spanish siege. As a reward it was given a university rather than a tax exemption, the story goes that it was offered the choice, and everything Leiden became afterwards follows from that.
The wall poems
Painted on walls all over the centre are more than a hundred poems, each in its original language: Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Spanish, English. There is no signposted route and no ticket. You simply keep noticing them, and once you start looking up you cannot stop. It is the best thing about walking around Leiden and it costs nothing.
The Burcht
In the middle of the old town, where the two branches of the Rhine meet, an artificial mound carries a circular stone wall. Climb the steps and walk the ramparts: you get the rooftops, the churches and the whole layout of the centre for free, at any hour.
The Hortus Botanicus
The university's botanical garden dates from 1590 and is among the oldest in the world. Carolus Clusius planted his tulip bulbs here, which is roughly where the Dutch tulip industry, and the speculative mania that followed, begins. It is a small, quiet, densely planted garden with a tropical greenhouse, and it is the best hour you can spend in Leiden on a warm day.
Two very different museums
The National Museum of Antiquities holds Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Dutch archaeology, and in its entrance hall stands an entire Egyptian temple, given to the Netherlands by Egypt. You walk into it. It is a strange and excellent thing to find in a Dutch provincial city.
Naturalis, out towards the edge of the centre, is the national natural history museum and is built for children in the best sense, including one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons in the world.
Rembrandt and De Lakenhal
Rembrandt was born in Leiden in 1606 and worked here before Amsterdam. His birth house is gone, but Museum De Lakenhal, in the old cloth hall, which explains where the city's money came from, holds early work by him and by Lucas van Leyden, and tells the story of the textile trade that paid for the canals you are walking along.
The Pilgrims
The group who later sailed to America lived in Leiden for over a decade before leaving, and a small museum near the Pieterskerk covers that period. They did not depart from here, they left from Delfshaven in Rotterdam, but this is where they spent their years in the Netherlands.
3 October
Every year on 3 October the city marks the day the siege was lifted, and it closes down to do it. Traditionally people eat hutspot, herring and white bread, and the whole centre is full from early morning. If you are in the Netherlands at the start of October it is worth arranging to be here; if you want a quiet visit, come any other week.
Seeing the centre on foot
Leiden is dense, canals, courtyards, gates, poems, gable stones, and almost all of it is missable if you do not know it is there. A city game gives you a route of puzzles through it and explains each stop as you arrive, which works well for families and for groups who would rather do something together than follow a guide.
Not sure how it works? Read how to play, it takes two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Leiden worth visiting?
Yes. It has the canals people come to the Netherlands for and a fraction of the crowds, plus two national museums and a genuinely old university town atmosphere.
How long do I need in Leiden?
A day covers the centre, the Burcht and one museum. Two days lets you add the Hortus, Naturalis and the hofjes without rushing.
Where are the wall poems?
Spread across the whole old centre. There are maps online, but the better approach is to walk and look up, you will find them.
Is Leiden good as a day trip from Amsterdam?
Very. It is about half an hour by direct train, and the station is a ten-minute walk from the centre.
What is Leiden known for?
Its university, the oldest in the country, the 1574 siege, Rembrandt, and the botanical garden where the first Dutch tulips were grown.
Does Leiden work for a group day out?
It does. The centre is compact and pretty, and there is plenty of terrace space along the canals to finish on. See the options for companies and groups.
Walk it slowly and look up
Start at the Burcht for the layout, then let the canals and the poems take you round. Want help choosing the right game for your group? Get in touch. Following the Pilgrims' route onward? Our guide to architecture in Rotterdam covers Delfshaven, where they sailed from.
