Leiden, University and Museum route

Culture and History tour in Leiden

Tour Price : Depending on starting point. Please email me stating your group size. Duration : Within Leiden, 2 hours. Languages: Dutch, English, German, also with a translator in Japanese and other languages

Leiden is a beautiful gem of a city and the center of university knowledge and book-printing in the Netherlands. My tour will begin at the stately Rapenburg canal. This is the well-known and highly respected seat of the University of Leiden. Right there, I will take you to one of the largest collections of Egyptian art the world, the National Museum of Antiquities (RMO) if only to see a full size Egyptian temple in teh courtyard. This Egyptian temple from the Roman-Egyptian era was rebuilt to its authentic size. (Free entry).

Inside is the best prehistoric presentation in Holland with a fish net PRE-dating the Egyptian pyramids (ticket cost).

Additional museums can be sampled, specifically the museums dedicated to painting and history as well as to science and Ethnology / Folk art. Many small, quaint streets will lead the way to little known gems of the city, like the botanical garden as well as the HUGE hidden castle mound of the Count of Leiden, a very old fortress that is so strangely tucked away that it is almost concealed. Winding our way to the place of the Pilgrim Fathers, where American history was born, we pass by many quiet, interesting, enclosed courtyards along the way. 

The high school where Rembrandt attended his Latin classes is another favorite attraction in the area,. You also will enjoy the liveliness of the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays when vendors of the town offer their wares.

A city full of museums, Leiden also offers an exquisite display of Dr. Siebold’s original collection of Japanese ethnology, maps and art. In the Museum of science, I can introduce you to the medical objects of the (then) world renowned medical doctor Dr. Boerhaave. You will see the very first microscopes in the world.

My tours can be conducted in either English or in German, and of course, in Dutch. A Japanese translator is also available. The entire tour takes about two hours and the price for the tour depends on the area from where we start and how many people comprise the group.

I can pick you up from your hotel or the airport l in my personal car - or we may take the train. Alternatively I meet you in Leiden.

Additional information