Leiden is a university city of canals, about 35 minutes by train from Amsterdam. Rembrandt was born here in 1606. The city is home to the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded in 1575 just after the Spanish siege, the country's oldest botanical garden and an unusual cluster of museums: Egyptian antiquities, natural history, painting, world cultures. The centre, calmer than Amsterdam, is easy to explore on foot between the Rapenburg, the Burcht and the De Valk windmill. One day is enough for two museums and a walk along the canals.
Highlights
De Valk windmill and the Beestenmarkt
29 metres tall, De Valk dates from 1743; it is the last of the 19 windmills that once stood on the city walls. A museum since 1966, it shows the miller's life and how the mill works (Molenwerf 1; Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm; €6, €3 for ages 6 to 15). Canal boats leave just below, from the Beestenmarkt.
The Burcht
This castle mound, where the two branches of the Old Rhine meet, is crowned by a 12th-century circular wall. You can climb the steps freely; the wall walk gives a view over the centre and its church towers. The entrance gate dates from 1653.
The Rapenburg and the Hortus botanicus
This curving canal at the heart of the city is lined with Golden Age mansions, the historic university building and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. Just behind it, the Hortus botanicus, founded in 1590, has a reconstruction of the garden of Clusius, the botanist who introduced the tulip to the Netherlands (Rapenburg 73; €14, €13.50 online, €6 for ages 4 to 18).
The museums
The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Rapenburg 28) covers ancient Egypt, including the Temple of Taffeh, a gift from Egypt, as well as Greece, Rome and the ancient Netherlands (€14, free under 18). Naturalis (Darwinweg 2) shows dinosaurs and natural history (€18 from age 4). De Lakenhal (Oude Singel 32) displays works by the young Rembrandt and Leiden painters (€16, free under 18, closed on Mondays). All are free with the Museumkaart.
The Pieterskerk and the hofjes
The Pieterskerk, consecrated in 1121, is the church where the university was founded and where Rembrandt's parents and the Pilgrim Fathers' pastor, John Robinson, are buried (€6, Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 6pm). Around it, some thirty hofjes, almshouse courtyards lined with small houses, are mostly open during the day; more than a hundred poems painted on walls punctuate the walk.
Infos pratiques
Tips
On 3 October, Leiden celebrates the relief of the 1574 siege (Leidens Ontzet) with a parade, a funfair and free herring and white bread: the city is in party mood, but the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, the Hortus, the Wereldmuseum and De Valk are closed that day. Canal tours (rondvaarten, about 50 minutes) cost €12 to €13.50 per adult. Prices checked in October 2026.
How to get there
Direct trains from Amsterdam Centraal to Leiden Centraal, several times an hour, in about 35 minutes; €12.00 single in 2nd class, no reservation needed (contactless bank card accepted at the gates). You can also start from Schiphol airport, a quarter of an hour from Leiden. From the station, the Rapenburg, the Burcht and De Valk are 5 to 15 minutes' walk away.
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