Things to Do in Leiden

Leiden is home to the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded in 1575 as a reward for the city's heroic defence against Spanish forces during the Eighty Years' War.

The city has over 28 kilometres of canals lined with 17th-century merchant houses, making it one of Europe's most picturesque canal systems outside Venice and Amsterdam.

Rembrandt was born in Leiden in 1606 and lived there until age 24; his former home is now a museum where you can see his printing press and original etchings.

Leiden's famous siege of 1574 ended when Dutch forces broke the dikes to flood Spanish positions—the city then held a celebration with herring and white bread, said to be the origin of the Dutch tradition of eating herring.

The Naturalis museum in Leiden houses one of Europe's largest natural history collections, including a 15-metre-long Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

Van Gogh briefly studied theology in Leiden before moving to London, and later lived and worked in the southern Netherlands for much of his artistic career.