Focus on Leiden, the Netherlands

You’re in Amsterdam. You have an extra day to kill. Would you like to visit the city that’s home to the oldest university in the Netherlands? The city that was the hometown of the Rembrandt? Or the city that boasts the largest Old City after Amsterdam? If the answer is all of the above, then you’ll be wanting to visit Leiden. Set just over 40 kilometres south of Amsterdam and just under 30 from Den Haag, Leiden’s ties to the history of the country are just as strong as either of these more well-known cities. The University was founded in 1575 by none other than William, Prince of Orange and was attended by Queens Juliana and Beatrix and crown-prince Willem-Alexander, and along the city’s extensive canal system can be found some of the best museums, most beautiful parks and best restaurants in the Netherlands.

Museum Boerhaave

Though this natural history museum only dates back to 1907, the collection in the Museum Boerhaave stretches all the way back to the 1500s, when the Netherlands began several centuries as one of the planet’s leaders in the sciences. In addition to the world’s oldest herbarium, the Museum Boerhaave boasts Willem Blaeu’s giant 17th century quadrant, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes and the planetarium and telescope of the iconic Christiaan Huygens. You can step back to the 18th century in the cabinets of professors ‘s Gravesande and Van Musschenbroek, and there are also physiotherapeutic devices and the papier-mâché anatomical models from the 19th century. And don’t miss the Theatrum Anatomicum, a reproduction of the lecture theatres where anatomical lessons were held, as portrayed in the paintings of the Dutch Masters.

Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal

Set overlooking the waters of the Oude Singel Canal, De Lakenhal offers a wonderful collection of Dutch art and other historical artifacts from the history of Leiden in the grand Clothmaker’s Hall dating from the year 1640. A museum since 1874, De Lakenhal features the work of 16th century Leiden artists, from Cornelis Engebrechtsz to Lucas van Leyden and from Gerard Dou and David Bailly to such masters as Jan Steen and the young Rembrandt himself. You can also take a look at the museum’s collections of Leiden silver, engraved glass, pewter and tiles. But the exhibits that make this an experience unique to Leiden are the loom, scissors and other relics from the time that this was one of the most important buildings in the city – the place with the famous Leiden cloth was inspected and where the Governors and Syndics of the cloth industry held their meetings.

Molen de Valk

With all the windmills you’ve been seeing from the outside, isn’t it time you actually got to go up inside one? The Molen de Valk (The Falcon|) has been overlooking the Old City’s outer canal since 1743 and once overlooked the city walls, long since disappeared. Starting life as a flour windmill, the Molen de Valk is now a museum. As interesting as the museum exhibits are, the real draw is that you get to explore all seven levels of the windmill, and stepping out onto the balcony up top is a thrilling experience. In an Old City lacking new high-rises, the Molen de Valk still offers one of the best views of the city. Conveniently located, the Molen de Valk is also not far from the railway station. Though this is the last original windmill of the dozens that once circled the city, you can also visit a rebuilt windmill, the original of which belonged to Rembrandt’s father.

Hortus Botanicus

Founded in 1590 as part of the university, the Hortus Botanicus is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. Set just off the exclusive and historical Rapenburg Canal, the garden also boasts one of the most picturesque spots in the city, its presence making the surrounding neighborhood even more picturesque. The large collection in this green oasis set behind Leiden University’s Academy Building comes from South-east and East Asia, Southern Europe and South Africa. Here you’ll find over ten thousand botanical species and dozens of different kinds of birds. There’s also a reconstruction of the medicinal herb garden that was here in 1594, as well as a Winter Garden, a Fern Garden, a Rosarium, a Japanese Garden, a Nut Field and many greenhouses. Some of the many past luminaries associated with the garden include Boerhaave, Linnaeus and Einstein, and, history and science aside, the Hortus Botanicus is just one of the nicest places in the Netherlands to take a stroll.

The Old City

Speaking of strolling, this is the best thing you can do in Leiden. If you stop at a print store and look at a 16th century map of the city, you’ll see that little has changed. A stroll down the Haarlemmerstraat and Breestraat take you through what are still the main shopping streets. And though the Reformation left the massive 16th century Pieterskerk, once the place of worship for the Pilgrims before they went to the USA, and the 14th century Hooglandsekerk without their stained glass windows and interior ornamentation, they are still standing. Unlike many smaller Dutch cities, you could truly get lost among Leiden’s canals. But don’t worry. Just keep walking and you’ll eventually find your way to some familiar site. Be sure to have one meal on the water in the centre of the city where the old and new Rijn Rivers come together at Annie’s Verjaardag. You’ll never forget the view. And be sure to climb up to the Burcht van Leiden, the circular fort that marks the spot where the city began so many centuries and so many canals ago. Though Leiden is close to both Amsterdam and Den Haag, there are many great hotels in town that allow you to see the city at your leisure.