The Best of Leiden: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

This self-guided audio tour around Leiden begins at the Hartebrugkerk (Heart Bridge Church), a fitting starting point where a wooden bridge has connected the city since the 1300s.

You’ll weave through narrow alleys and alongside picturesque canals, exploring the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave where medical science flourished.

Visit the former Cloth Hall (Lakenhal) that showcases how textile trade brought wealth to Leiden

Marvel at the Morspoort, one of only two surviving 17th-century city gates

Walk along the prestigious Rapenburg Canal, often called one of Europe’s most beautiful waterways

Experience the vibrant Aalmarkt, once the bustling center of the city’s fish trade

You’ll climb the ancient Burcht van Leiden, a fortress that’s stood guard over the city for nearly a thousand years.

Explore Pieterskerk, where the Pilgrim Fathers worshipped before departing on the Mayflower

Explore Leiden University, founded in 1575 as a reward for the city’s resistance during the Spanish siege, and where Einstein once taught as a visiting professor

See the Hortus Botanicus, where tulips were first planted in the Netherlands, sparking the famous tulip mania

National Museum of Antiquities

The tour ends at the ornate Renaissance façade of the Stadhuis (City Hall), which has served as Leiden’s administrative heart for generations.