Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #2 in Leiden, Netherlands
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Tour Facts
8.4 km
62 m
Experience Leiden in Netherlands in a whole new way with our free self-guided sightseeing tour. This site not only offers you practical information and insider tips, but also a rich variety of activities and sights you shouldn't miss. Whether you love art and culture, want to explore historical sites or simply want to experience the vibrant atmosphere of a lively city - you'll find everything you need for your personal adventure here.
Activities in LeidenIndividual Sights in LeidenSight 1: Zijlpoort
Zijlpoort is a city gate in Leiden, The Netherlands. The gate was built in 1667 in the classical style according to a design by the Leiden architect Willem van der Helm and with sculpture by Rombout Verhulst. Because the gates have to connect with the city wall as well as with a bridge, the building is in the form of a parallelogram. The Zijlpoort, together with the Morspoort (1669) and Doelenpoort (1645), are the only of the original eight gates that survived. The name refers to the nearby river, the Zijl. The predecessor of the Zijlpoort stood at the end of the Haarlemmerstraat that is now called the Havenplein.
Sight 2: Ankerpark
The Ankerpark is a park in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 3: Blekerspark
The Blekerspark is a park in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 4: Sint-Josephkerk
St. Joseph Church is the largest Roman Catholic parish church still in use in Leiden in the diocese of Rotterdam. It is also called the Herensingelkerk, because it is situated at the street called Herensingel. The church is a national heritage site and one of the tallest buildings in the centre of Leiden.
Sight 5: Huigpark
The Huigpark is a park in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 6: Sint Janshofje
The Sint Janshof is a courtyard in the Dutch city of Leiden, in the province of South Holland. The courtyard is located on the Haarlemmerstraat. The Sint Janshof was founded in 1504 by order of Jan Stoop Kerstiaanszoon and his wife Claertgen. The courtyard was intended for decent people, who had fallen to the lower shore due to setbacks. The courtyard consisted of seven houses for single women, six for married couples, a regent's room and a house that could be rented out for the benefit of the courtyard. In 1565, the heirs of the founders transferred the courtyard to Mr. Geraert van der Laen, who in the same year ordered the new construction of the houses, the gatehouse and the regent's room. After his sudden death, the name of the courtyard was changed to the Sint Jans- or Van der Laenhofje.
Sight 7: Meermansburg
The Meermansburg on the Oude Singel / Oude Vest is the largest court in the Dutch city of Leiden. It was founded in 1680 by Maerten Meerman and his wife Helena Verburgh. The name is a contraction of the surnames of the founders.
Sight 8: Marekerk
The Marekerk is a Protestant church in Leiden, located at the Lange Mare and the Oude Vest canal. The church can be easily seen from the Oude Vest and the Burcht van Leiden by its round dome.
Sight 9: De Grachtwacht
The Canal Guard is a citizens' initiative in the Dutch city of Leiden that strives to keep the canal clean and to make people aware of the urban nature in and around the canals.
Sight 10: Groeneveld
The Groeneveld Foundation is one of the youngest courtyards in the Dutch city of Leiden. The courtyard is located on the Oude Vest near the Leidse Schouwburg. The courtyard was founded in 1878 by Eduard Cornelis Groeneveld and built in 1882.
Sight 11: Bethlehemskerk
The Bethlehem Church is a church building on the corner of Lammermarkt and Marktsteeg in the Dutch city of Leiden. The building was designed by the Dutch architect aren't van 's-Gravesande.
Sight 12: Museum De Lakenhal
Museum De Lakenhal is the city museum of fine art and history in Leiden, Netherlands. Founded in 1874, its collection ranges from early works by Rembrandt van Rijn and Lucas van Leyden's Last Judgement to modern classics of De Stijl and artworks created by contemporary artists such as Claudy Jongstra, Atelier van Lieshout. One notable collection is that of fijnschilder paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. Besides its permanent collection, the museum runs temporary exhibitions and public events.
Sight 13: Sint Elisabethgasthuishof
The Sint Elisabeth Gasthuishof is a courtyard on the Caeciliastraat/Oude Vest in the Dutch city of Leiden. The courtyard consists of twelve houses from the second quarter of the 17th century. Entrance to the courtyard is a striking gate with sandstone frame. The court is located in the former St. Elisabeth Gasthuis.
Sight 14: Coninckshofje
The Coninckshof is one of the courtyards of the Dutch city of Leiden. The courtyard is located at Oude Vest 15. The courtyard was founded in 1773 and consecrated in 1777 by Cecilia Coninck. It stands partly on the ground of the former Saint Ursula monastery. Originally, the courtyard had six houses, but it was later expanded to seven houses. In 1861, four more houses were added. The courtyard is a national monument and has been registered in the monument register since 1968. The courtyard has a gatehouse, bluestone pump and regent's room.
Sight 15: Sint Stevenshofje of Convent van Tetterode
The Sint Stevenshofje or the Convent of Tetterode is a courtyard on the Haarlemmerstraat in the center of the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 16: Groot Sionshof
The Groot Sionshof, or van Swietenhof, is a courtyard on the Sionsteeg in the city center of the Dutch city of Leiden. It was founded in 1480 by Hugo van Zwieten and Luydgaert Claesdochter van Bosschuyzen. In terms of foundation, it is the second oldest surviving courtyard in Leiden, but it is no longer on its original site: it was moved from the Papengracht to the Sionsteeg in 1668 due to dilapidatedness.
Sight 17: Rijksmuseum Boerhaave
Rijksmuseum Boerhaave is a museum of the history of science and medicine, based in Leiden, Netherlands. The museum hosts a collection of historical scientific instruments from all disciplines, but mainly from medicine, physics, and astronomy.
Sight 18: Vrouwekerk
The Vrouwekerk or Vrouwenkerk, originally known as the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, was a 14th-century church in the Dutch city of Leiden. In the early 17th century, the church was attended by the Pilgrims as well as by the first colonists to settle on Manhattan.
Sight 19: Hartebrugkerk
The Hartebrugkerk is a church in the Dutch city of Leiden. The church is part of the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul. The official name is Our Lady Immaculate Conception. The church is named after the bridge of the same name in front of it at the time. Among the people of Leiden, the church is also known as the Coeliekerk, after the last word of the Latin proverb above the entrance, Hic Domus Dei est et Porta Coeli.
Sight 20: City Concert Hall Leiden
The Stadsgehoorzaal is a concert hall on the Breestraat in the Dutch city of Leiden. In addition to the Great Hall, the building includes a chamber music hall, the Aalmarkt Hall and a historic hall on the Breestraat, the Breezaal.
Sight 21: Waalse kerk
The Walloon Church in Leiden is a church building in the Breestraat in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 22: Jean Michelshofje
The Jean Michelhof, also known as Jan Michielshof, is one of the 35 courtyards of the Dutch city of Leiden. The courtyard is located in the Pieterswijk right opposite the Lokhorst Church in the Pieterskerkstraat 10-12. The courtyard was founded in 1687 by Catharina Geschier, widow of Jan Michielsz.
Sight 23: Pieterskerk
The Pieterskerk is a late-Gothic Dutch Protestant church in Leiden dedicated to Saint Peter. It is known today as the church of the Pilgrim Fathers, where the pastor John Robinson was buried. It is also the burial place of the scientist Willebrord Snellius.
Sight 24: Jean Pesijnhofje
Jan Pesijnhof is a courtyard in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 25: Academisch Historisch Museum
The Academic Historical Museum (AHM) is a museum in the Dutch city of Leiden, in the province of South Holland. The museum, which is housed in the Academy Building, displays objects, photographs and documentation about the history of Leiden University and student life. The museum has permanent and temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibition includes twenty sculptures by Leiden professors. There are several smaller exhibitions throughout the Academy Building. Also special are the entrance to the Academy Building (1828), the vault room (1581) and the Great Auditorium (1581) that was used for the theology colleges. In 1865 Victor de Stuers made a number of special charcoal drawings in the stair tower and at the entrance to the sweat room. In 2009, student Uri Ruff painted a mural depicting modern student life. The temporary exhibition is housed in the reception area, among other places.
Sight 26: Lokhorstkerk
The Lokhorst Church is a religious building in the Pieterswijk in the inner city of Leiden in the Dutch province of South Holland. The combined Mennonite and Remonstrant congregations hold their worship services there. It is a national monument.
Sight 27: Latijnse School
The Latin School is a national monument in the city center of the Dutch city of Leiden. Rembrandt van Rijn, among others, was taught here.
Sight 28: Klein Sionshofje of Weduwenhofje
Klein Sionshof is a courtyard at Schoolsteeg 1-5 in the Dutch city of Leiden, in the province of South Holland. The courtyard has a sandstone gate, which is crowned by a pediment with an inscription about the foundation.
Sight 29: van Brouchovenhofje
Brouchovenhof is a courtyard located at Papengracht 16 in the Dutch city of Leiden. It was founded in 1631/1640, by Jacob Van Brouchoven. The houses were later raised.
Sight 30: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands, located in Leiden. It grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology. The museum calls itself "the national centre for archaeology" and focuses on ancient Egypt, the ancient Near East, the classical world of Greece, Etruria and Rome and the early Netherlands.
Sight 31: Bibliotheca Thysiana
The Bibliotheca Thysiana was erected in 1655 to house the book collection of the lawyer Johannes Thysius (1621–1653). Upon his early death, he left a legacy of 20,000 guilders for the building of a public library with a custodian's dwelling. Designed by the architect Arent van ‘s-Gravensande, the building follows the Dutch Classical style and is regarded as one of the jewels of Dutch 17th-century architecture. Bibliotheca Thysiana is one of the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites. It is distinguished by its balanced proportions and the purity of its Ionic order on top of a high basement.
Sight 32: Sieboldhuis
Japan Museum SieboldHuis is a museum located at the Rapenburg (Leiden) in Leiden, Netherlands. It displays items that were collected by Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) between 1823 and 1829 during his stay at Dejima, the Dutch trade colony nearby Nagasaki in Japan. It also functions as a museum of Japanese culture.
Sight 33: Gijselaarsbank
The Gijselaarsbank is a symmetrical bench at the head of the Rapenburg in Leiden. The bench dates from 1920 and was built in honour of Nicolaas Charles de Gijselaar, who was mayor of Leiden between 1910 and 1927. During the First World War (1914-1918) he tried to reduce shortages of food, clothing and fuel and to distribute these goods fairly.
Sight 34: Pieter Loridanshofje
Pieter Loridanshof is a courtyard in the Dutch city of Leiden, at Oude Varkenmarkt 1. The courtyard was founded in 1655 by Pieter Loridan and consists of an entrance pavilion with regent's room and 12 houses. In 1950 the folding house was restored. Since 1968 it has had the status of national monument.
Sight 35: De Put
Windmill De Put on the Galgewater in the Dutch city of Leiden is a 1987 replica of the post mill of Jan Jansenzoon Put.
Sight 36: Wereldmuseum Leiden
Wereldmuseum Leiden, is a Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands located in the university city of Leiden. As of 2014, the museum, along with Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, in Amsterdam, and Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, together make up the National Museum of World Cultures.
Wikipedia: National Museum of Ethnology (Netherlands) (EN), Website
Sight 37: Morspoort
The Morspoort is the western city gate of Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands, located on the Morssingel. The stone gate was built in 1669 in Mannerist style according to a design by the Leiden master builder Willem van der Helm.
Sight 38: Moskee Al Hijra
The Al Hijra mosque is a mosque in the Dutch city of Leiden, which has been located at Rembrandtstraat 10 since about 1982. Because the building became too small for the Moroccan religious community, a new building was put into use on the Ter Haarkade in 2018. The name Al Hijra or Al Hijra refers to the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622.
Sight 39: De Heesterboom
d'Heesterboom, also known as De Heesterboom, is a sawmill in the Dutch city of Leiden. It belongs to the Top 100 of the National Service for the Preservation of Monuments. The mill is located at the Noordman timber merchant on the Haagweg on a plot on the Oude Rijn/Galgewater. The mill has three saw frames. The middle window consists of a saw and scalloped window.
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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.
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