Leiden packs thirteen museums, the oldest university in the Netherlands and more than thirty-five hidden almshouse courtyards into a canal centre you can cross on foot in twenty minutes. It is where Rembrandt was born and learned to paint, where the Pilgrims lived before sailing for America, and where the country's national collections of antiquities and natural history sit ten minutes apart. It is thirty-five minutes from Amsterdam and twelve from The Hague.
The national archaeology museum on the Rapenburg, covering Egypt, the classical world, the Near East and Dutch archaeology. The Egyptian collection includes the Temple of Taffeh, given to the Netherlands by Egypt and rebuilt inside the entrance hall.
Open daily, with a late Thursday evening. Under-18s go free. Closed on 3 October.
Official siteA national museum and research institute holding roughly 42 million specimens across eight galleries, including one of the most complete T. rex skeletons in the world.
Leiden's busiest museum. Book online, and note that the T. rex experience costs extra.
Official siteThe oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands, founded in 1590 beside the university, where Carolus Clusius planted the tulip bulbs that started the Dutch trade. Allow about two hours.
Longer hours from late March to late September. Closed 3 October and over the New Year.
Official siteMore than thirty-five almshouse courtyards sit behind unmarked doors in the centre, most of them still lived in. The signposted courtyard walk is about five kilometres and takes an hour or two.
Buy the route map at the tourist office. Keep your voice down - these are people's homes.
Official siteAn authentic tower mill of 1743, five minutes' walk from the station. Nineteen windmills once stood on Leiden's city walls and De Valk is the only survivor, still furnished as the miller's family left it.
Closed Mondays. The stairs are steep and it is not wheelchair accessible.
Official siteRembrandt was born in Leiden in 1606 and learned to draw, paint and etch here before leaving for Amsterdam. A short video-mapping projection at Langebrug 89 tells that story on the site of his first studio.
Only open Tuesday to Friday afternoons, and very cheap. No booking needed.
Official siteLeiden together with another city, in one tour.
Walk it at your own pace, on your phone. Works offline.
Official sources, so you can check today's hours and prices rather than trusting ours. All open in a new tab.
Three official drop-off points, each with a 15-minute maximum: the Nieuwe Beestenmarkt, the 2e Binnenvestgracht and Stationsplein 107. For longer waits, coaches park on the Lammenschansweg by Lammenschans station, just off the A4, or on the Zweilandlaan at Lugdunum.
Official coach informationLeiden Centraal has NS lockers and is one of the cheaper stations for it, from about €5 for 24 hours - useful, since the station is a fifteen-minute walk from the Rapenburg.
Locker sizes and pricesLeiden is home to the oldest university in the Netherlands, the birthplace of Rembrandt, and the city where the Pilgrim Fathers lived before sailing to America, giving it an unusually dense concentration of history for its size.
Yes, both are close by train, and Leiden pairs naturally with either as part of a longer day trip.
Yes, Leiden is where Rembrandt was born and trained before Amsterdam, and a walking tour can trace several sites connected to his early life.
