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Things to do in Leiden

Our most recommended things to do in Leiden

From Leiden City: Kaag Lakes Windmill Cruise

1. From Leiden City: Kaag Lakes Windmill Cruise

Embark on a scenic boat cruise on the Kaag Lakes from Leiden and discover the beautiful landscape, known for its shallow lakes, islands, polders, and many windmills. Sit back and relax as you enjoy the views and get to know the Green Heart of Holland.  Sail from the historical city of 'Leiden' for a beautiful cruise through the Green Heart, characterized by shallow lakes and islands. The islands are polders and are still being drained by 18 restored polder mills in operation. Most of these mills can be seen during the cruise. This is Holland in its entirety: polders, cows, windmills, lakes, beautiful views and beautiful Dutch villages. The different areas within the Green Heart of Holland have their own character and appearance.  The captain informs you about all the sights during the trip and in good weather you can of course also enjoy the deck where you have a wide view of the surroundings. Drinks, snacks, and simple lunch items are available to purchase. 

Leiden: Hortus Botanicus Entry Ticket

2. Leiden: Hortus Botanicus Entry Ticket

Discover the unique plant collections of the Hortus Botanicus Leiden in an hour and a half with this admission ticket. Enjoy flowering bulbs in the spring or take a relaxing walk under the colorful ancient monumental trees in the autumn, the garden is worth visiting during any season. After exchanging your ticket at the Hortus Botanicus front gate, begin your adventure through the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands at your own pace. Witness the historical garden founded in 1590 where the first tulips in Europe were grown. Walk through the Front Garden and admire the recently built glasshouse, the Clusius Garden, and the Japanese Garden where the historical exchange of plants between Japan and the Netherlands can be admired. Imagine yourself in the jungles of Southeast Asia while being surrounded by the collection of tropical orchids and more. Unwind in the gardens and have a relaxed walk under the monumental trees. See a collection of carnivorous plants, rare tropical orchids, and seasonal favorites such as the Jadevine (flowering in March-April), the Victoria amazonica (flowering June-September), and the Chinese Lotus (flowering in July). Be in awe of a collection of almost thirty trees, some of which are over a century old and be sure to visit the souvenir shop and Grand Café before your experience is over.

Lisse: Drive-it-Yourself Tulip Fields GPS Audio Tour

3. Lisse: Drive-it-Yourself Tulip Fields GPS Audio Tour

Experience the enchanting and iconic tulip fields at their purest. You will enjoy a drive-it-yourself trip through the famous flower bulb region, taking in the colors and smells, and stopping as often as you want for a selfie among the tulip and flower fields. Drive in a sturdy open-cab Twizy over a 20-kilometer route past the colorful tulip and flower fields. The road will lead you through the famous flower bulb region and to an authentic flower bulb nursery. Throughout your tour, your audio guide will inform you of all the ins and outs of the area, whilst also sharing interesting facts about the tulip industry, Cruise down country roads along the flowering tulips and park your Twizy beside the road to admire the sea of flowers up close. Driving a Renault Twizy is super easy and fun, and on the road, you will be sure to attract a lot of attention. For kids ages 4 - 16yrs, there is a challenging treasure hunt, will they crack the code of the safe and win a cool prize?

Leiden: Interactive City Walking Escape Self-Guided Game

4. Leiden: Interactive City Walking Escape Self-Guided Game

Do you want to explore the city in a fun way? In this city game both the starting and end point are known. Will you be able to find the correct route to get to the end point? During this interactive city walk you will visit the fun, surprising and undiscovered places of the city in 3 hours. By playing Escape the City, you will playfully discover places that you normally wouldn't know or wouldn't notice while passing by. How does it work? You will receive an email with pictures and a map of the city. The map of the city is divided into squared sections. In each square, you need to find the location shown on the picture you received. Once you have found the right photo location, you take a group selfie and send it to the game instructor of Stad Unique. You'll receive a question of which the right answer will lead you to your next photo-location. Can you escape the city?

Leiden: Escape Tour - Self-Guided Citygame

5. Leiden: Escape Tour - Self-Guided Citygame

Marie Swanenburg, also known as Good Mie, is a poisoner and serial killer who was caught one evening in 1883. She intended to serve her cousin and son-in-law a poisonous substance, only this went wrong. As a result, she had to leave her beloved Leiden as soon as possible. Will you help her to find the secret exit? Choose your starting time with your teammates, beginning at anytime day or night. Make your way across the city, checking off tasks to find all the clues you need to reach the secret passage. As you search for clues, marvel at the beautiful sights of the town. Walk past the Pieterskerk, wander through the lovely streets and keep an eye out for the many historic buildings in the city center. Work quickly, and you and your team could set the record for the fastest tour. Good luck!

Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology Entry Ticket

6. Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology Entry Ticket

Open your view of the world with a visit to Museum Volkenkunde – the National Museum of Ethnology – a museum about people located just 5 minutes from Leiden's central station. Housed in a historic building, the museum is home to large successful exhibitions, small surprising exhibitions for the enthusiast, innovative public programs, leading scientific research, and many international collaboration projects. After entering the museum, explore the exhibitions that take you from Bali to Guatemala, from Oceania to the Arctic, and from Mecca to Djenné. Come to see how, despite all our differences, we are all in one sense the same: human beings. Feel your sense of the world expand as each object in the collection tells a human story. Be touched by stories that embody universal human themes, such as celebration, mourning, decoration, prayer, love, and conflict.

Leiden: City Canal Cruise

7. Leiden: City Canal Cruise

Discover Leiden from the water on this 60-minute canal cruise. See the historical city, the cozy canals, and beautiful waterfront houses. The captain is also your amazing guide who will teach everything about the city. The historic city center of Leiden has a total of 28 kilometers of canals. And you need bridges to get over all those canals and singels. The city center of Leiden has no less than 88! The old town is surrounded by water. And there is a lot of greenery within those singels. That is why it is also called the Singelpark. Leiden from the water is fantastic! Onboard drinks available for purchase from the departure location.

Lisse: Drive-it-Yourself Summer Flower GPS Audio Tour

8. Lisse: Drive-it-Yourself Summer Flower GPS Audio Tour

Experience the pure and enchanting dune and summer flower show gardens. You will be free to cruise at your own pace through the famous bulb region, with a drive-it-yourself Summer Flower tour. You can sit back and relax in an electric 2-seater Renault Twizy, which includes gps navigation and an audio guide to best allow you to explore one of the most beautiful and colorful areas of the Netherlands. While enjoying the eye-catching colors and pleasant scents, you can park the Twizy at the indicated stops to admire the charming summer flowers up close. This 3-hour trip is more or less 35 kilometers long and takes you through the famous Bulb Region with stops at one of the biggest summer flower and dahlia show gardens of Europe and the summer flower and dahlia show garden of Castle Keukenhof. This tour will also show you the amazing dune area. The GPS navigation with a fixed route ensures you won't miss out on any hotspots, and will guarantee that you come across all of the famous and hidden beauties of this region in South-Holland. The audio guide provides you with all ins and outs about the sights, as well as amusing fun facts. Driving the Renault Twizy will be stress-free and great fun, with guaranteed attention to detail along the way. It iss a quiet and 100% electric vehicle, which makes your tour surprisingly, environmentally friendly too.

Alphen aan den Rijn: Open-Air Museum Archeon Tickets

9. Alphen aan den Rijn: Open-Air Museum Archeon Tickets

Dive into the past of the Netherlands with tickets to the Archeon open-air museum in Rijn, which features 43 reconstructed buildings made from archaeological finds. Join one of the guided tours, listen to fascinating narratives, or participate in numerous activities.  Learn from the archaeo-interpreters dressed in clothes of the time and who interpret the different periods of the past. They can also answer your questions about each period.  Go canoeing, throw some spears, play a medieval ball game, or make a brooch. Or would you like to have your fortune told by a Temple Priestess? You can also enjoy a Roman massage or decide over the life of gladiators and much more. Visit the reconstructed Gallo-Roman villa, which houses the Roman Museum. You can also enjoy delicious food and drinks in the Roman restaurant or the medieval monastery. Browse the store for many great books and souvenirs.

Lisse: Drive-it-Yourself History and Castle Audio Tour

10. Lisse: Drive-it-Yourself History and Castle Audio Tour

Discover some of South Holland's most beautiful castles and luxurious estates with the ease of a compact electric car. The region of South Holland has a rich history, and this has resulted in several beautiful castles, churches and luxurious estates. These sites are usually hidden, but with this drive-it-yourself GPS audio tour, you can discover some of them freely. In a 100% electric 2-person Renault Twizy, complete with GPS navigation and an audio guide, you can explore a number of historical sights and buildings at your own pace. The unique open design of your Renault Twizi will give you a sense of complete freedom. You will feel, smell and experience where you drive. Driving a Renault Twizy is super easy and fun, and on the road you attract a lot of attention.

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What people are saying about Leiden

Overall rating

4.4 / 5

based on 125 reviews

I use a wheelchair and wanted to take a boat trip from Leiden with my wife. On Monday we bought the tickets for Wednesday online. It also said on the "getyourguide" website that the ship is barrier-free. To be on the safe side, we drove past the port in Leiden on Tuesday, where the ship was parked. Unfortunately, this ship was in no way barrier-free. I then called the shipping company, who confirmed this to me. The nice lady spoke German very well and rebooked our trip from Leiden to Katwijk. This ship had a hydraulic wheelchair lift "hidden" under the stairs, with the help of which the captain got me into the passenger compartment very well.

We had such a great time exploring on this self tour! It ended up being the best part of our trip! Got to see local gems we never would have experienced and had a lot of fun driving around. Friendly, easy and informative. Would definitely do another route if we came back. Thank you!!

A wonderful museum, with visually stunning displays. Collection on exhibition is thoughtfully and thoroughly described. Mix of historical objects and more modern pieces and stories is fantastic.

Nice day out in Leiden and we really enjoyed the Dutch landscape on the cruise

It was a great way to see the windmills staff were friendly and welcoming