Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #2 in Leiden, Netherlands
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Tour Facts
7.8 km
66 m
Experience Leiden in Netherlands in a whole new way with our 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: Mierennesthofje
The Mierennesthofje is a courtyard in the city center of the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 2: De Burcht
The Burcht van Leiden is an old shell keep in Leiden constructed in the 11th century. It is located at the spot where two tributaries of the Rhine come together, the Oude Rijn and the Nieuwe Rijn. The structure is on top of a motte, and is today a public park.
Sight 3: Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum is a small museum in the Dutch city of Leiden dedicated to the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed to the New World on the Mayflower. These Puritan separatists were religious refugees who had fled England to Amsterdam in 1608 and moved to Leiden the next year. They lived and worked in that city for about 12 to 20 years. In 1620, they left Leiden by canal, going to Delfshaven where they embarked on the Speedwell, which took them to Southampton. But the Speedwell proved leaky and had to be sold, so they transferred to the Mayflower and undertook the famous voyage to New England. The colonists' first harvest festival after their arrival at Plymouth Colony was the origin of the annual Thanksgiving celebration in the United States.
Sight 4: Hooglandse Kerk
The Hooglandse Kerk is a Gothic church in Leiden. Its earliest parts date back to the last quarter of the fourteenth century. Most of the current structure dates from the fifteenth century. The brick church was dedicated to St. Pancras and today serves parishioners of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.
Sight 5: Evangelisch Lutherse kerk
Evangelical Lutheran Church is a church in the Dutch city of Leiden. The church is located at Hooglandse Kerkgracht 26. The building dates from 1618, making it the oldest church building built for Protestant service in the city.
Sight 6: François Houttijnshof
François Houttijnshof is a courtyard in the Dutch city of Leiden. The courtyard is located at Hooigracht 81 and contains 9 houses. In 1736 it was decided to found the courtyard, which was completed a year later. It has a sober entrance and a stone with the inscription 1737.
Sight 7: Hof van Venetië
The Hof van Venice is a complex of originally twelve houses from 1898 on the Uiterstegracht in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 8: Het Leids Wevershuis
Museum Het Leids Wevershuis consists of one of the last remaining "weavers' homes" in Leiden, Netherlands. Built around 1560, the exterior, the large antique loom (1830) and the interior, are testimony of the once flourishing textile industry around Leiden, in particular during the 16th and 17th century, when many home weavers supplied the draper's guild with high quality woolen cloth.
Sight 9: Blekerspark
The Blekerspark is a park in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 10: Huigpark
The Huigpark is a park in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 11: 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 12: 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 13: De Grachtwacht
The Canal Guard is a citizens' initiative in Leiden that aims to keep the canal clean and to make people aware of the urban nature in and around the canals.
Sight 14: Hartebrugkerk
The Hartebrugkerk is a church in the Dutch city of Leiden. The church is part of the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul. Its official name is Our Lady Immaculate Conception. The church is named after the bridge of the same name in front of it. Among the people of Leiden, the church is also known as the Coeliekerk, after the last word of the Latin motto above the entrance, Hic Domus Dei est et Porta Coeli.
Sight 15: 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 16: 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 17: Jean Pesijnhofje
Jan Pesijnhof is a courtyard in the Dutch city of Leiden.
Sight 18: Jeruzalemshof
The Jerusalemhof is a courtyard on the former Cellebroersgracht, which has been the Kaiserstraat since it was filled in 1875, in the city center of the Dutch city of Leiden. It is the oldest surviving courtyard in Leiden. It was founded on 16 May 1467 by Wouter IJsbrandszoon in honour of God and the twelve apostles on the occasion of his visit to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Originally, the courtyard consisted of 13 houses that were intended for thirteen poor men, who are honorable, and of good syn façade. A possible wife was also allowed to live with her, because then she could take care of her husband. When her husband died, she had to leave. The fact that a courtyard was intended for men and not for women was remarkable, because that had never happened before in the Netherlands.
Sight 19: Oude Sterrewacht
The Old Observatory is the former observatory building of the Observatory of Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Sight 20: Hortus Botanicus Leiden
The Hortus botanicus of Leiden is the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It is located in the southwestern part of the historical centre of the city, between the Academy building and the old Leiden Observatory building.
Sight 21: Lokhorstkerk
The Lokhorst Church is a religious building in the Pieterswijk in the city center of the 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 22: 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 23: 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 24: 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 cottages were later raised.
Sight 25: 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 26: 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 27: 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 28: 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 a national monument.
Sight 29: 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 opened in 2018 on the Ter Haarkade. The name Al Hijra or Al Hijrah refers to the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622.
Sight 30: De Heesterboom
d'Heesterboom is a sawmill in the Dutch city of Leiden. It belongs to the Top 100 of the National Monument Conservation Agency. 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 frame.
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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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