Wander through 800 years of visible history

Museums
Museums
City walks
City walks
Monuments
Monuments

There is a good reason why Leiden is called the city of discoveries: on every street corner you can see, smell and almost taste the rich history of this historic city, with its beautiful canals, city gates and impressive churches. There's just so much to see. Leiden is simply bursting with stories, but where should we begin? Once upon a time...

Wander through narrow streets and along beautiful canals

Leiden is made to wander through. There's no better way to soak up the city's past than by wandering through the historic city centre. The stories come to life all by themselves. From the young Rembrandt who roamed the streets and alleyways as a small boy, to the Pilgrims who settled around the Pieterskerk in the 17th century. The alleyways of Leiden also have great stories to tell. Thieves Alley, Brewster Alley, the names give away their secrets. At the VVV Tourist Office you can find countless self-guided walking routes. Or check out the opportunities for a guided tour with an experienced city guide.

Citymap Leiden

Discover the pillars of medical history

For centuries Leiden has played an important role in medical science, as it does to this day. Every day new medical discoveries are made and research conducted in the Leiden Bio Science Park. In Leiden it all began with the founding of the university, with the medicinal herb gardens of the Hortus Botanicus, and the arrival of Professor Boerhaave and the anatomical theatre in Rijksmuseum Boerhaave that was named after him. And then there's Wereldmuseum Leiden, the museum of ethnology housed in the former Academic Hospital building, the forerunner of the LUMC. Leiden is truly a city of knowledge, culture and science. Because these things often go hand in hand. Are you driven by a thirst for knowledge? Then walk the discovery route!

City walks

Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis

In Japanmuseum SieboldHuis you'll find the most beautiful treasures from Japan in a historic Dutch house on the Rapenburg in Leiden: prints, lacquerware, ceramics, fossils, herbaria, prepared animals, coins, clothing, old maps and hundreds of other treasures.

Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis
Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis
Discover the world of science in Rijksmuseum Boerhaave

What are the most important discoveries from our Dutch scientific history? Discover more about their inventions and think about the big questions of today.
Rijksmuseum Boerhaave
Discover the world of science in Rijksmuseum Boerhaave
Wereldmuseum Leiden

Wereldmuseum Leiden has been collecting the world's cultural heritage since 1837: art treasures that are thousands of years old, statues of Incas and Aztecs, Chinese paintings and African bronzes.
Wereldmuseum Leiden
Wereldmuseum Leiden