Leiden

This is a 1987 replica of windmill built in 1729 and demolished in 1817. The nearby Rembrandtbrug (Rembrandt Bridge) is also a 1983 replica of a 17th century bridge also demolished in 1817.

A 17th-century building used to weigh and trade various goods.

A 16th-century orphanage complex (aka Kinderrechtenhuis). It now hosts Utopa-Weeshuis managed by the Utopa Foundation, an organisation for "updating and promoting creative talents of people, where the construction of individuals for any reason whatsoever, no chance"

A 17th-century church of an unusual round form.

It is the only surviving 17th-century example in the Netherlands of a building that was designed as a public library.

The old gymnasium (1599).

The city carpenter's yard or construction yard (1612), built by Lieven de Key (c. 1560–1627). The former residence of the city's master carpenter, with a large stepped gable, is open to the public and is in use as an art gallery of a local visual artists collective.

It’s a bridge over the Nieuwe Rijn. The bridge dates back to 1642 and it was used for corn trade. For this very reason it was covered in 1834.

The Western gate of the city.

The Eastern gate of the old town.

The garden hosts different species of flowers and trees around the world. The oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands, it's part of the University of Leiden.

It is named after the mayor Pieter Adriaanszoon van der Werff, who defended the town against the Spaniards in 1574, 6 years into the Eighty Years' War of Independence (1568-1648) against the Spaniards. The town was beleaguered for months and many died from hunger. According to legend van der Werff was accused by a frantic crowd of secretly hiding food reserves. He denied it vehemently and to prove his sincerity offered to cut off his arm to serve as food. This made people back off, ashamed of their mistrust. The Van der Werff Park is one of the small parks in Leiden's centre and is probably the most interesting one due to its history. There used to be blocks of houses here but during the cold afternoon of January 12, 1807, a disaster occurred. A ship filled with 18 tons of gunpowder blew up, leveling the surrounding blocks of houses on both sides of the canal and killing hundreds in the process. It's claimed the explosion was heard in Groningen, 250 km away. Years later, the area was turned into a park on one side and a laboratory was built on the other; the Kamerlingh Onnes laboratory: famed for at one time being the coldest place on earth, where helium was liquefied for the first time, and superconductivity discovered, which earned Kamerlingh Onnes a Nobel Prize.

A park in a polder on the edge of town, with cows and wildlife (especially birds). Nice for walks.

The Boerhaave Museum, named after the 16th-century physician and biologist Herman Boerhaave, is the Dutch National Museum of the History of Science and Medicine. It features an extensive exhibition of scientific equipment from 1600 onwards. Highlights include the Theatrum Anatomicum (a mock-up of a lecture theatre where anatomical lessons were held), Gravesande demonstration experiments (first demonstration experiments to show Newtonian physics), the first microscope, the first helium liquefier and the first Fahrenheit thermometer.

Naturalis (aka National Museum of Natural History) is a museum on the history of life and the natural planet. The museum has undergone large renovations and is now housed in stunning new architecture. The exhibition is organized in a number of themed rooms. On the ground floor, the LiveScience section is accessible at no charge and is the place where small lectures and show-and-tell events are hosted and where some of the research staff can be seen at work and interacted with. Higher floors include tour taken through the world's present biodiversity, where the visitor is guided from underwater to the land; a dinosaur exhibit including the spectacular T. Rex, Trix; a room about the Ice Ages in the Netherlands; a room about geology, volcanism, and seismic activity; a room with the first-ever discovered human ancestor: the Java man; and themed rooms about death and about attraction. The museum is in walking distance of the station and has fairly good parking.

This is a traditional museum on the history of people. Includes an outstanding collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities, and a small temple that was given to the Netherlands by the Egyptians for their help with the Aswan monuments transfer project. It also features an exhibition on the archeological history of the Netherlands including dug-up burial treasures and the like. Free audioguide available in major languages.

The museum shows the culture of native peoples around the world in a refreshingly open-minded way. Permanent exhibitions are grouped based on geographical regions. A good, well thought-out museum with lots of background information in its bookshop, extensive library, and computer screens that are strewn about the museum. Of special interest are the temporary exhibits.

A museum on Japanese art and culture. It displays items that were collected by Philipp Franz von Siebold between 1823 and 1829 during his stay at Dejima, a Dutch trade colony nearby Nagasaki in Japan. Free audioguide available in major languages.

Municipal museum in the magnificent 17th-century former clothmaker's hall. Permanent collection shows artefacts and art objects throughout the history of Leiden from the 16th century, including those of some famous Dutch painters, including Rembrandt, as well as the De Stijl movement, which was started in Leiden.

It was a flour windmill and now is a windmill museum. Less than 5 minutes walk from Leiden central station. You can climb through all the mill's levels. On the top, you can admire the view of Leiden. If you have never seen the inside of a windmill this museum is well worth passing by on route to the National Museum of Ethnology or any of the other museums

A small weaver house built in 1560 with an authentic operating loom from 1830.

It is a small house (built between 1365 and 1370) opposite the bell tower of the Hooglandse kerk, furnished in the style common to the Pilgrim era.

This site suggests a rather unusual way of sightseeing: walk and read poems written on the walls. More than 100 poems from all over the world are painted on the walls of houses. The poems are written in various languages, but there is also a small plaque beneath an each piece with Dutch and English translations. This project was conducted between 1992 and 2005. One can check with the map.

Take a tour along the almshouses (courtyards) hidden behind the façades of Leiden houses. A tour will take about two hours. A prior reservation is required. Check with the website or VVV Leiden for further information.

A small yearly film festival in October encompassing mainstream and smaller art-house films shown at a variety of museums and cinemas throughout town. It gets some Dutch premieres.

A yearly festival in January with performances by mainly (but not exclusively) Dutch performers. The Wednesday night pub-crawl is a blast with many bars hosting live music (for other venues you do have to buy tickets though they're not expensive).

A small-scale music festival with performances ranging from metal to dance. July.

A week of different activities in the city center and on the canals. There's a culinary festival, and the museum night. June.

Celebrations commemorating the end of the Spanish siege of Leiden (in 1574). Part of the festivities is a huge fun fair. The festival is overwhelming, noisy and heavily beer drinking. The town hall has strongly increased policing and crowd management of the event to make it reasonably safe to visit. In evening hours, it is still more like a mega pub crawl than a family event.

As everywhere in the country, Koningsdag is celebrated on 27 April.

Offers mostly regular Hollywood fare. The 1970s interior is in serious need of an upgrade.

Grand old dame and with a brilliantly restored art deco/art nouveau main theatre. Offers Hollywood fare but also a smaller and independent pictures.

Small charming cinema with classics and arthouse movies. Also, under the name "expat cinema", movies with English subtitles are played.

A concert hall. The building in rare for the Netherlands Neo-Renaissance style is dating back to 1891.

It is a cultural centre located at a former old factory. It offers musicians, contemporary artists and scientists a place to get in touch with one another, leading to performances and expositions and such. There's also a restaurant.

A beautiful theatre, built in 1705 it is amongst the oldest ones in the Netherlands. Tickets can be purchased on their website however you need a username.

(Dutch) Multicultural stage for performers of jazz-, world, crossover and pop music as well as poetry and boogy nights.

Modern music venue with dance, rock, pop. Good sound quality.