Our most recommended things to do in Leiden

Leiden: Guided City Canal Cruise

1. Leiden: Guided City Canal Cruise

Explore Leiden from a different angle on a comfortable canal cruise. Learn about the city from your captain, see the Leiden City Hall from the water, and pass under many of Leiden's famous bridges. Board your cruise in the city center and begin your adventure through Leiden's 17 miles of canals. Cruise through the historic city center and pass the City Hall, the luscious Hortus Botanicus Garden, and the Museum De Lakenhal. As you explore the canals of Leiden, cruise under many of its 88 bridges. Sit back and enjoy the view while your captain tells you fascinating facts about Leiden and the sights you pass. If you wish to enjoy a drink or a snack as you cruise, you can purchase one at the departure point before boarding.

From Leiden City: Kaag Lakes Windmill Cruise

2. 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: Electric Boat Rental

3. Leiden: Electric Boat Rental

See the many canals of Leiden on board a private boat. Cruise to your own destinations, with no itinerary, and yourself as captain to direct the adventure. First, board the boat with your friends and family. Depart from the dock and begin your exploration of the 88 canals that encircle the city center. Then, dock at one of the many parks along the water, and discover why some call the city Singelpark. Hop back on board the boat and continue around the 28 kilometers of canals. Finally, you'll arrive back at the dock and climb back on dry land with a new appreciation of the city. Leave your cruise with a better understanding of the canals, your boating skills, and Leiden.

The Hidden Stories of Leiden - Self-guided audio tour

4. The Hidden Stories of Leiden - Self-guided audio tour

This tour is all you need to discover Leiden! It takes you past hidden gems and famous landmarks, all while telling you the great stories of these places. Learn where Rembrandt went to school, why Leiden is the city of keys and many more facts, all told through immersive stories in both text and audio. This tour is created by Awesome Places, a content creator with over 400 thousand followers on different social platforms, and a local to the city of Leiden. This tour will take you through the most awesome places in Leiden. Now, get ready to embark on an amazing journey through the beautiful city of Leiden.

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: Hortus Botanicus Entry Ticket

6. 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.

Leiden: Sherlock Holmes Self-guided Smartphone City Game

7. Leiden: Sherlock Holmes Self-guided Smartphone City Game

Experience the excitement of being a detective and join the thrilling Sherlock Holmes game with your team. While celebrating freedom at the Liberty Festival, a man named Balthazar, the head of Homeland Security, is found dead with a knife in his back. The police have apprehended four suspects and it's up to you to solve the case and uncover the truth. By moving around the city you will unlock assignments. Here you will find characters who are willing to help. But the information comes at a price! Solve their puzzles, chase down culprits and play along to get closer to solving the murder. During this murder mystery you can check your progress on the suspect board. Can you solve the murder? Play Sherlock Holmes! IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Date: to book this game you have to choose a date, BUT you can play, pause & continue whenever you like. - Persons: 1 player stands for 1 team. - Note: this City Game uses the city as an interactive playing field, but does not provide any information about the city!

Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology Entry Ticket

8. 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: Paddleboard Rental to Explore Leiden's Canals

9. Leiden: Paddleboard Rental to Explore Leiden's Canals

Enjoy Leiden in the most unique and sporty way in search of the most beautiful and nicest places. Do you have experience? Get on immediately and paddle past many sights in 2 hours. Is it the first time? Then you start with an instruction at the harbor office to quickly master the supping. After the instruction, your tour begins to the many beautiful places that the city has to offer. The city where Rembrandt was born with the Academy Building where he studied, the canals, city gates, bridges, windmills and the courtyards along the water.

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

10. 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?

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What people are saying about Leiden

Overall rating

4.3 / 5

based on 108 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