Discover Leiden:
Free Walking Tours

Welcome to the beautiful and peaceful Key City: Leiden. Often called the Amsterdam of the South because of its wide canals and majestic mansions, this gem of South Holland is incredibly navigable and full of surprises. On our walk, we will uncover beautiful Bridges, hidden Courtyards, historic Homes, and the beautiful spaces that have been inspiring and drawing travellers, zealots, philosophers, adventurers for hundreds of years. 

​

Focusing on Leiden's First Golden Age we talk about how a single tulip bulb sold for the price of a canal house. The flower that started the famous tulip mania? It was planted right here in Leiden. Our walking tour follows a trail that takes you to that spot at the Hortus Botanicus and through the streets where Rembrandt and his contemporaries grew up, sketched their earliest works, and became the painter who would define the Dutch Golden Age.

​

Along the way, you will hear how Leiden's canals were built as moats to stop invaders and how those Invaders impacted the unique Leiden accent you'll still hear today. You'll understand why poems cover the city walls instead of graffiti, and how a group of English refugees, called the Pilgrims, sheltered here before sailing, with nine future US Presidents among their descendants. 

Your guide walks you through 12+ stops, from soaring surviving Molen de Valk to the panoramic fortress of De Burcht. We will help you fall in love with this unique city we call home.