Gemeenlandshuis van Rijnland

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

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

A nice-looking 15th-century building (despite being a jail). It is now a part of the university.

The Church of St. Peter (the patron saint of the city) is a 16th-century church, in late-Gothic style. A feature which Americans will find interesting is that this church is associated with the Pilgrim Fathers, whose leader John Robinson, lived in the nearby Pieterskerkchoorsteeg (house is marked with a plaque). The church features a small exhibition on the Pilgrims in Leiden. People buried here include the physician Boerhaave, the painter Jan Steen (of Rijksmuseum fame) and the Pilgrim leader Robinson.

The old renaissance façade facing Breestraat is dating from 1597. A newer building lying behind this façade (facing Nieuwe Rijn) was built to replace the older one, destroyed in a fire in 1929. The grand staircase on the Breestraat side is often the backdrop for wedding photos. On the Breestraat side, there is also the “proclamation chair”, a small staircase leading up to a raised platform against a blank wall. In the days before newspapers, television, or the internet, the city council would use this platform to make important announcements, such as ordinances, warnings, or sentences.

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.