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Discover Leiden: Hidden Golden Age Free Tour English/Spanish
Features
- Free cancellation available
- 1h 30m
- Mobile voucher
- Instant confirmation
- Multiple languages
Overview
- Discover hidden courtyards and historic homes of Leiden
- Walk through a city gate, see the last surviving remnant windmill
- See the spot where the first tulip was introduced from Turkey
- Walkthrough the streets Rembrandt would recognise, where he grew up and sketched
- See where Pilgrim Father's are buried + how Dutch culture influenced a new world
Activity location
- Leiden
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Meeting/Redemption Point
- Molenwerf 1, 2312 CK Leiden, Netherlands | We will meet at the base of the Molen de Valk. Your guide will be set up between the canal and the bike path, with an umbrella (black or purple polka dot) to wave you down with.
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Check availability
Discover Leiden: Hidden Golden Age Free Tour English/Spanish
- 1h 30m
Activity duration is 1 hour and 30 minutes 1h 30m - English
Discover Leiden: Hidden Golden Age Free Tour English/Spanish
- 1h 30m
Activity duration is 1 hour and 30 minutes 1h 30m - English
What's included, what's not
- Walking tour of Leiden
What's included What's included - Visit to the last surviving windmill of the city ramparts
What's included What's included - Tour of Rembrandt's childhood streets
What's included What's included - Pass by the homes and studio spaces of other Dutch Grand Masters, Jan Steen and Jan Lievens
What's included What's included - Climb into a 1000+ year old fortress that's been a city park since the 1600s
What's included What's included - Brief stops at a free bathroom and a cafe, if needed
What's included What's included - Restaurant recommendations
What's included What's included - Visit a working windmill, built on a pedestal that moves with the wind
What's included What's included - Tour of the shopping and market district
What's included What's included - Visit to the oldest University in the Netherlands
What's included What's included - Walk through the City Gate
What's included What's included - Explore of 3 hidden courtyards
What's included What's included - Visit the city's namesake cathedral, and learn why Leiden is known as "Key City"
What's included What's included - Visit to the Hortus Botanicus and the original University of Leiden Academic building
What's included What's included - Learn about the tradition of signing the wall inside the University building, and which US President's signature is still viewable there today
What's included What's included - Tips, recommended as ± €20 per person
What's excluded What's excluded - Entrance fees
What's excluded What's excluded - Food / Snacks - there will be a stop midway at a cafe, where items can be purchased for takeaway if needed
What's excluded What's excluded
Know before you book
- In accordance with UK consumer law, activities services are not subject to the right of withdrawal. Supplier cancellation policy will apply.
What you can expect
Begin your walking tour at the entrance of the Leiden, at the base of the last surviving Windmill that use to grace the city ramparts. Follow the path along the natural boundaries of the old city walls, envisioning a world of chaos beyond the gates, and a dramatic existence within. We walk through the gardens of one of Europe's first Anthropology Museums, through one of the last surviving city gates, and into the streets most recognisable to the renown Dutch Masters Rembrandt, Steen, and Leivens, who introduced Dutch art to the World.
We'll see the landmarks that have attracted visitors for 400+ years:
- The Netherland's first Botanical Garden and home of the first tulip delivered by the Ottomans'
- The first University that was gifted to the city for withstanding siege and famine
- The largest library of 17th century books still known in existence.
Learn how Leiden University kept Galileo's ideas alive and see where French Philosopher Renee Descartes lived as a student. Beyond that, we'll visit the traditional shopping and market district, that has been a mainstay of daily life since the Medieval times. Wander through the quiet streets and hidden courtyards where the pilgrims planned their trip to the New World after fleeing England.
In 90 minutes, you will learn about the tulip mania of the 1600s, when a single tulip bulb sold for the price of a canal house. You'll see the streets where Rembrandt grew up, sketched his earliest works, and became the painter who would define the Dutch Golden Age - and you'll learn about this lesser known contemporaries. 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.
Move over, you'll leave with wonderful ideas on how to spend your next few days or next few holidays in this unique South Holland city.
We offer both English or Spanish language tours, so please confirm you've selected the correct tour when booking.
Location
Activity location
LOB_ACTIVITIES LOB_ACTIVITIES - Leiden
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Meeting/Redemption Point
PEOPLE PEOPLE - Molenwerf 1, 2312 CK Leiden, Netherlands | We will meet at the base of the Molen de Valk. Your guide will be set up between the canal and the bike path, with an umbrella (black or purple polka dot) to wave you down with.
- Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands