Leiden & The Hague: Pilgrims, Rembrandt and Royal History

You will meet your guide in the middle of Beestenmarkt square in Leiden. This is a 5 minute walk away from Leiden Central Station. Your tour of the city starts here.

The first thing you will see during the tour is the famous Morspoort, one of the oldest entrances to the city.

We will walk past the iconic 17th century windmill Molen de Put. This is the same type of mill that the parents of Rembrandt owned.

This square is named after the famous Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn, who used to live in Leiden. Let's find out more about it.

We will see the Stadsgehoorzaal, as we are walking on the Breestraat. This is a much used concert hall.

We cannot miss the Pieterskerk of course, the most famous church of Leiden. You will learn more about its history (going back to the 12th century!) and current use.

The old town hall of Leiden. It is an iconic building that we cannot miss during the tour. Your guide will tell you about it!

We will visit the exterior of the Burcht van Leiden, an old castle used for defensive purposes in war times. It is located on top of a hill and adds to the particular character of Leiden.

You will make your way to Leiden Centraal Station and make your way to The Hague.

You'll make your way to Plein in The Hague, right in the city center. There you will learn about the Father of the Fatherland, Willem van Oranje, and his role in the 80 years war: the Dutch revolt.

We will make our way towards the Mauritshuis museum. I will tell you something about the building and its history. Among others, this museum has the most famous paintings of Johannes Vermeer inside.

We will briefly walk onto the square within the parliament complex and see the Knight's Hall. Here I will tell you about the significance and history of this place. With some luck, we might see some of our ministers (or prime minister) walking by!

The Hofvijver lake is situated in front of the parliament building and the prime minister's office (the little tower!). You will learn about the significance of this place and some funny history.

The statue of Thorbecke next to the Hofvijver is quite interesting. This statue has to do with our constitution! You will hear more about it.

This is the Champs-Élysées of The Hague. Quite a classy street! We will walk a bit and pass multiple embassies, an art museum, a famous hotel, the temporary senate building, a statue gallery of the Dutch heads of states and some more interesting (royal) buildings.

We will see the working palace of the Dutch king. Based on the flag, we can find out if he is currently in the country. Let's see!

We will see the Grote Kerk ("Big Church") of The Hague. What is that stork doing on top of it?

Another statue! This is the only head of government in the world that has been eaten by an angry mob! That sounds a bit weird, but you'll find out what happened.