Leiden is a South Holland university city of roughly 125,000 people on the Oude Rijn, granted city rights in 1266 and famed for Leiden University (1575)—the Netherlands’ oldest—the 1574 relief of the Siege of Leiden, and as Rembrandt’s birthplace. Its compact, canal-lined centre mixes stepped-gable streets with major sights like the hilltop Burcht van Leiden, Pieterskerk, the Hortus Botanicus (one of the world’s oldest), Museum De Lakenhal and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, plus the De Valk windmill museum. Cafés and bars cluster around Markt and along the singels, and everything is easy on foot or by bike. Getting in and around is straightforward via Leiden Centraal, with frequent fast trains to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam and The Hague.
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