All places on one walk
Leiden is compact: almost every place on this page is within a twenty-minute walk of Leiden Centraal station, so you can easily string them together into one canal-side walk.
Pick a place for the details — address, map, opening hours where they apply, and what else is nearby.
Continue exploring Leiden
- BreestraatThe Breestraat is Leiden's stately main street: a wide avenue of shops, the Renaissance façade of the City Hall and the old courthouse with its blindfolded…
- BeestenmarktThe Beestenmarkt is Leiden's terrace square: a leafy waterside plaza where students, families and visitors gather in the sun.
- PieterskerkThe Pieterskerk is Leiden's oldest church and the monument where the Pilgrim Fathers, Rembrandt's baptism records and four centuries of city history come…
- Hooglandse KerkThe Hooglandse Kerk towers over the eastern city centre: a tall, light-filled Gothic church right next to the Burcht.
- RapenburgThe Rapenburg is often called the most beautiful canal in the Netherlands: wide quays, double rows of trees and 17th-century mansions on both sides.
- Nieuwe Rijn & Fish MarketThe Nieuwe Rijn is Leiden's liveliest stretch of water: quayside terraces, the old Fish Market and a large open-air market twice a week.
- De WaagDe Waag on the Aalmarkt is Leiden's classical weigh house, designed by Pieter Post, with a frieze of porters above the entrance.
- Leiden City HallLeiden City Hall on the Breestraat has the longest Renaissance façade in the Netherlands and is the symbol of the city's civic past.
- MorspoortThe Morspoort is one of Leiden's two surviving city gates: an octagonal domed gateway from 1669 on the western edge of the centre.
- ZijlpoortThe Zijlpoort of 1667 marks the eastern boundary of old Leiden, with the harbour and its houseboats spread out in front.
- HaarlemmerstraatThe Haarlemmerstraat is Leiden's longest shopping street: more than a kilometre of shops, from big chains to local specialists.
- Van der WerfparkThe Van der Werfpark is the green city garden in the heart of Leiden, laid out on the site of the 1807 gunpowder disaster.
- Academy BuildingThe Academy Building on the Rapenburg has been the heart of the oldest university in the Netherlands since 1581, complete with the famous Sweat Room.
- Leiden almshouse courtyardsBehind unremarkable doors lie dozens of hofjes: small courtyard gardens surrounded by cottages, built as charity housing for the elderly.
- KoornbrugThe Koornbrug is the roofed bridge over the Nieuwe Rijn: a wooden canopy on stone piers, right in the middle of the market area.
- De Put windmillDe Put is the white post mill on the Rhine, built as a replica of the mill Rembrandt saw from his birthplace.
- SingelparkThe Singelpark is the six-kilometre green ring around Leiden's old town, running over the former ramparts and along the water.
- PlantsoenThe Plantsoen is the romantic park on the eastern edge of the old town, with tall trees along the water of the Herensingel.
- MarekerkThe Marekerk is the Baroque church on the Lange Mare: a bright, domed church often overlooked, yet one of the finest in Leiden.
- WeddesteegWeddesteeg is the narrow alley where Rembrandt van Rijn was born in 1606 — a small place with a big story.
- GarenmarktThe Garenmarkt is the lively square between the Haarlemmerstraat and the Burcht, lined with terraces and historic façades.
- Leiden canalsThe Leiden canals form the water network that cuts through the centre: a system of quays, bridges and monuments that gives the city its character.
- Leiden Old TownLeiden's old town is the compact historic heart of the city: canals, monuments, almshouses and museums within a fifteen-minute walk.
- Saturday MarketThe Saturday Market on the Nieuwe Rijn is one of the largest and liveliest markets in South Holland, with cheese, fish, flowers and stroopwafels.
- Leidse SchouwburgThe Leidse Schouwburg is Leiden's monumental theatre on the Oude Vest, with a rich programme of drama, dance and music.
- MeelfabriekThe Meelfabriek is the regenerated industrial complex on the Zijlsingel: a monumental building that now combines hospitality, events and homes.
- GalgewaterThe Galgewater is the wide stretch of water on the west side of the old town, with De Put windmill, rowing clubs and the view Rembrandt knew as a child.
- GravensteenThe Gravensteen beside the Pieterskerk is Leiden's oldest prison and now a university building, fronted by one of the quietest little squares in town.
- LodewijkskerkThe Lodewijkskerk on the Steenschuur is Leiden's Roman Catholic church: a former monastery church with a light, sober interior and a busy concert programme.
- StadsgehoorzaalThe Stadsgehoorzaal on the Breestraat is Leiden's concert hall: classical music, pop, comedy and the annual 3 October programme under one roof.
- Leidse HoutThe Leidse Hout is the green estate park on the north side of Leiden: old beech trees, a tea house, a petting farm and wide walking paths.
- Polderpark CronesteynPolderpark Cronesteyn is Leiden's largest nature park: reed beds, meadows, bird hides and a tea house, ten minutes by bike from the centre.
- Kaag LakesThe Kaag Lakes are the watersports area just north of Leiden: sailing, sloop trips, small islands and waterside terraces.
- Leiden Centraal stationLeiden Centraal is the starting point of almost every visit: intercity trains to Amsterdam, Schiphol, The Hague and Rotterdam, and a five-minute walk to the…