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Visit Leiden
Historic stepped-gable house on the water in Leiden with a sailing boat

One perfect day in Leiden

Leiden's centre is barely a kilometre across, which means a single day is genuinely enough for the highlights. This is the itinerary we give friends who arrive from Amsterdam on the morning train.

Morning: 09:30 – 12:30

  • 09:30 Coffee on the Nieuwe Rijn or at the Koornbrug.
  • 10:00 Rijksmuseum van Oudheden — mummies and the Temple of Taffeh (90 minutes).
  • 11:45 Climb De Burcht for the free rooftop view.
  • 12:15 Wander the Pieterskwartier and its hidden courtyards.

Afternoon: 12:30 – 17:00

  • 12:30 Lunch on a canal terrace, or at the Wednesday/Saturday market.
  • 13:30 Canal cruise, one hour, departing near the Beestenmarkt.
  • 15:00 Choose Molen De Valk or the Hortus botanicus.
  • 16:30 Wall poems and bookshops on the way back through the centre.

Evening and variations

Have dinner around the Pieterskerkhof or on the Nieuwe Rijn, then a beer in a brown café. With children, swap the Oudheden for Naturalis and the Hortus for CORPUS. On a rainy day, string together three museums instead — they are five minutes apart.