Leidan has been my favorite city in the Netherlands since the first time we went there back in June of 2020.
With all of its bridges and the large canals running through its center, it's hard to not be taken in by its beauty.
To me it's one of those places that has a sort of romanticism about it.
Like you could get lost in its streets while holding the hand of your partner and not really care.
Maybe it's the silhouettes of the homes...
or the sun setting on the water.
Maybe it's the tulips or the evening glow?
Maybe it's the cafe's and restaurant terraces next to the water with the boats slowly passing by.
Am I laying it on too thick?
Can you really blame me?
For this trip we made Leiden our home base for two nights as we explored the tulip fields and a few towns that we hadn't already been to.
After Haarlem on the first day we saw two more locations, Zaandam and Zaanse Schans, before going to Leidan but I decided to skip ahead a bit in my posting order to try and sell the idea of this city to anyone who might be planning to go to the Netherlands in the coming weeks. They know who they are ;)
We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Leidan during the day because we had seen a lot of it previously, but we ate supper there each night and walked around for a few hours afterwards.
The days are quite long now so we were able stay out past 8:30pm before it got too dark to walk back to our hotel.
One thing that I love about the Netherlands is that their dinner time is much ealier than it is in France and its much more fluid as well.
We were able to eat around 6pm but restaurants were open as early as 5pm.
We are used to nothing opening until 7pm, so we are generally waiting on the sidewalk for the doors to open so we can eat dinner.
Then we rarely get out until 9pm so there generally isn't much time to do anything after supper. Then I usually feel like I'm going to bed on a full stomach as well.
Its a different system but I don't think I'll ever get used to it since we continue to eat quite early at home. I like having that option in the Netherlands.
Our hotel was pretty far from the oldtown area so we had a bit of a hike to get down there.
It was a jaunty 45 minute stroll each way and after a long day of walking it wasn't an easy task. We always do a lot of walking on our trips but this was a bit much even for us. I believe we walked 35 thousands steps that day according to our fitbits.
The next day we biked downtown to dinner and that only took 7 minutes. It was much faster but our butts still hurt from our 60km bike ride through the tulip fields. But it was still worth it though in my opinion.
Some of the sites to see in the old town of Leiden are as follows.
Molen De Put
Molen de Put is a monumental windmill that originally existed in the 17th century.
The current mill was built in 1987 and it sits next to Rembrandt bridge, also originally from the same time period and rebuilt in 1983.
Rembrandt
That brings us to Rembrandt himself, the famous Dutch painter that was born in the city of Leiden.
Many of the streets and landmarks are dedicated to the artist and there is even a Rembrandt Route that takes you to all of the historic sites associated with his life within the city.
Walking to dinner one night we stumbled upon this statue called Young Rembrandt. I thought it was pretty cool monument.
Burcht van Leiden
Burcht van Leiden is a small and modest castle ruins that dates back to the 11th century.
Its located in the heart of the old town in a small public park at the center of two tributaries of the Rhine River.
The ruins themselves are cool but not overly impressive, but the location makes them quite special.
After walking around the outer perimeter you can climb a spiral staircase in the circular keep to see get some amazing 360° views of the city.
From there you can see most of the famous buildings including the main city cathedral...
the town hall building...
and the old orphanage.
A really interesting fact about the orphanage is that in the 17th century orphans were used to supply labor for the textile industry.
At that time when demand was high orphans were actually imported in from other countries to meet the demands of the industry. Wow! How times have changed.
Even just the rooftops are impressive from the top of the ruins.
Hooglandse Kerk
Hooglandse Kerk is the main city cathedral located by Burcht van Leiden. It was built in the Gothic style but has clearly been renovated over the years.
The original structure dates back all the way to the 14th and 15th century.
I really liked this neighborhood right next to the cathedral as well. It looked like a swanky part of town with some really nice homes and a tree lined walkway. Hand in hand it's a nice stroll to take with someone you are fond of.
Conclusion
To me Leiden is one of those places that has a bit of everything. It's a big city with a lot of small town charm. It has history and natural beauty and all around its a great destination to visit. Watching the sun set on the canals gives it a romantic appeal but its also has a hip sort of vibe to it as well that makes it lively and fun. For all of these reasons the city is my favorite place in the Netherlands and ranks high on my recommendation list of places to visit.