Leiden walking tour, Netherlands

travel videos & photos at: townsofeurope.com/ with text, maps & links.
We’re in Leiden, Netherlands. enjoying the pleasures of this beautiful town. It's another one of the great historic cities of the Netherlands, most famous perhaps for the University. It's the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded back in the mid-16th century and so there's a lot of university students here. And it's not as touristic, certainly not nearly as crowded, as a place like Amsterdam, which is only about 1/2 an hour away by train.
So it's really a refreshing change to come and visit smaller cities like Leiden. This city has got the canals running through it, as most Dutch cities do. And here it's really quite special, the canals come right through the middle of the old town.
There's half a dozen of these very peaceful waterways, especially nice in the morning, busy in the afternoon with lots of people out walking around shopping, eating and drinking.
During the program you will get a good look at most of the interesting parts of Leiden. I'll take you on a thorough walking tour, we will go down some of the main lanes, the little back lanes, side lanes. We will see the University and its botanical gardens. We will walk along canals and we'll just show you this town inside and out.
Starting in this central part of the city, probably the most attractive and popular place to spend time, where the Old Rhine canal and New Rhine canal come together.

[@avxd7]

i studied here and god i miss it. it’s a perfect place to get a snack from the market, read a book by the canal, or grab a heineken. i’d do anything to go back!

[@Snakesborough]

Being a Leiden University graduate this video makes me very happy. I studied there from 1982 till 1987. Happy memories!

[@dot-zx2xw]

Και εγώ θέλω να πάω εκεί να κάνω το μεταπτυχιακό μου!!! Μακάρι να με αξιώσει η τύχη, ο Θεός, δεν ξέρω, το θέλω πολύ!!! Χαιρετισμούς από την Ελλάδα! Greetings from Greece!!!

[@metalfyregaming2468]

As a born and raised Leidenaar I must say, you really did your homework on this. Nice to see an American reviewing another town other than the known ones like i.e. The Hague and Amsterdam and Rotterdam. What I did miss though, is a walk along the Singel (it's the name of the street, but these canals are in the Dutch language also referred to as singels (plural)). It's a winding walk along a beautiful canal, very green all around, and there's a thing there called Het Observatorium (The Observatory) where you can watch the stars in the sky. It should really have been included in this vid, but as stated, I loved the presentation. Well done :)

[@denniscallan]

I really appreciate that coming from a native, thank you so very much. I do have another movie about my canal boat tour in Leiden where we see a lot of the banks of the canals as we pass by, and I do show the observatory, describing it as the world's oldest university telescope, with the boat guide adding more comments. Next time I'm back in your town I'll do more walking along those canals. The boat movie: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n32Yn6qfasl1fbc

[@metalfyregaming2468]

@@denniscallan Awesome! I'll check the link. :)

[@cherish78748]

This is beautiful! I went to school in Leiden and miss it very much. I would have loved to see inside the Hooglandskerk and the nearby Pilgrim Museum. The floor in the house next to the Pilgrim's Museum is 1 - 2 meters below street level. When I asked why it had been dug out they told me it wasn't, that used to be street level. They raised all of the streets everywhere in the city hundreds of years ago, and the result was that all houses had to have their floors raised, or be descended into. It's utterly amazing.

[@BillMintjeHD-Brussels-Belgium]

The 2nd time watching this episode....such a nice city. Planned to go there next week.

[@Saaihead]

Always a joy to see my hometown from the eyes of a visitor. Glad you liked it. :)

[@bonnoverhoog4310]

Beste stad die er is toch ? :)

[@Saaihead]

@@bonnoverhoog4310 Zeker weten!

[@xanderkiela]

leiden is like a small amsterdam, with less tourists, but its just as beautifull! Greetings from Leiden!

[@alisab3041]

Dennis, we love your videos! We are college professors who have traveled multiple times to England, but never to Europe. You have inspired us to take a 3-week trip to Germany and the Netherlands in Fall 2020. We are actually going to skip Amsterdam and travel to Strasbourg, then Heidelberg, then Rotterdam and Leiden. We will take day trips to Haarlem, Delft and The Hague. We also teach genealogy, and we are offering a new class this fall called "Physical and Digital Travel for Genealogy Research" and will be sharing links to your videos with our students here in Lawrence, Kansas. Thanks for sharing your experience online!

[@arhu74]

You can safely skip Rotterdam and the Hague, nothing much to see, just boring busy mostly modern cities, visit Utrecht, Maastricht or the hanseatic cities Deventer, Zutphen and Doesburg instead

[@robl6052]

Hope you can still pursue your plans due to covid madness. Born and raised 'Leidenaar' here. I can tell you the city has even more to offer than shown in this video.

[@denniscallan]

Thank you, professors! I am delighted to be helpful to your plans, which sound very good, and to help your students.

[@alisab3041]

Rob L Sadly, my plans have changed, not only with COVID but the death of my husband in February 2020. I’m hoping now to visit Leiden in a couple of years, when travel has safely opened again. Things are a mess in the U.S. now (Sept. 2020) but hopefully will improve if we get a new government that actually believes in science! I love university towns, which almost always offer a lot of diversity and culture. I have friends in Breda that I hope to visit there too. Stay safe and be well!

[@alisab3041]

denniscallan Dennis, your videos have brought me a lot of joy and I am longing to travel again! Stay safe during this difficult time.

[@alconamx]

Thanks Dennis, that was superbly done.

[@Lanaprivitera]

Thank you so much for this wonderful video!! I spent some days in Leiden in 2023 during a Watercolor International convention. I loved it so much that I'll be returning on May 2024 with my sister and son. 🤩

[@canadianlady777]

You do a wonderful job of presenting this city in such a good way...Thank you

[@aeeeess1763]

I had visit there last week and really appriciated with this city. I can say that I love Leiden!

[@HedgingBoy]

LOVE your videos! Brilliant commentary and good coverage of the important places!

[@denniscallan]

Thanks very much.

[@xplanet2112]

Lived in Leiden in the 90’s as one of the many British and Irish that went over to work in the bollen industry at the many factories and have an enjoyable time at the weekends at the many bars! I would love to back over and see it all again!

[@Beun007]

Dennis, really... I'm actually stunned by this beautiful video! Really.... So pretty well done!

[@Man-in-the-green]

Amsterdam was and is always the number 1 city. Leiden is nice. Utrecht as well.

[@kersensour5672]

Great, beautiful Holland..😘 Thanks!😘

[@cantona222]

Thanks Dennis for such lovely videos. I really appreciate your attention to detail especially for the walking routes. They are really helpful. I've just arrived in Amsterdam and will have day trips to The Hague and Leiden.

[@denniscallan]

Very glad you are enjoying them; you will love the Netherlands. I have it all in great detail on my website: townsofeurope.com/Netherlands/Introduction-Netherlands.html

[@mr.doobsie58]

mr. dennis Callan, your video's have Great production values and quality in editing!! Well Done!! Very informative too.

[@giacobbepietro9836]

Thumbs up for great video!

[@gerbenvangoozen]

Great video ! Leiden is my hometown and i dare say it is a hidden treasure . Luckily not so packed with tourist as Amsterdam , i hope we can keep it that way .

[@ahmetkaya3430]

Thanks for very beautiful Video Danny

[@bondmood]

Taking a chance and subscribing! Love travel.

[@WarinPartita6]

Thanks for this very informative video, Dennis. :-))))

[@Shan81044]

It is really formidable can SEE and knower a little of this handsome and wonderful places historic in the cities from the Netherlands!

[@Marchan58]

thank you , this video is very useful for me I feel as if I were there.

[@aminaistiaq175]

This video reminds me of my tour I really enjoyed there

[@borderreiver3288]

another beautiful place and very clean with no litter whatsoever...

[@fazgalaxy8949]

Beautiful City

[@CityWalks]

Another great video tour. Can't wait to get my kids to the Netherlands. I'm not sure I would have included Leiden, so thanks for putting it on our radar - Henry 🙏😀👋🌺

[@CityWalks]

NorthernLights that is great to know. Thanks for the recommendation. 😀👋👍🏻🙏 -Henry

[@joellelilaboughazi4552]

Beautiful, Thank you

[@Ho11yw006]

I'm looking at this city for sure on my next visit. You made me wish I would have visited on my last 2 trips. I can say that so far my fav is Amsterdam with Gouda a at close 2nd , but it look like Leiden may be my new fav. What an awesome video!!

[@rotcivaahsiak3653]

an eye opener for my upcoming visit

[@SilviaGomesDri22]

AMEIZIN!! May Dream to live in Netherlands

[@yogeshsingh2534]

love your every video about netherlands ......i get very excited whenever i see you uploaded a video...thanks for that and keep exploring netherlands for us so we can explore it in the future

[@denniscallan]

Thanks messer, you will find many more Dutch videos coming soon, like my latest on Utrecht that you may have found already: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d57GkH2GgKyDiqM

[@abdelnour65]

this is beautiful ville

[@debbee18]

Thank you for a wonderful tour of Leiden! I went today and was able to find all the places of special interest because of the information you shared. I am currently staying in Den Haag and will go back again to Leiden (15 minute intercity train ride away) as I arrived at the Botanical Garden 30 minutes before close. Cheers!

[@denniscallan]

Glad it was helpful. You can also see my website with more videos, text, photos and maps about the Hague, Leiden and many other Dutch towns. townsofeurope.com/Netherlands/Introduction-Netherlands.html

[@gwaptiva]

My alma mater; always great to see it again after all these years

[@kpcraftster6580]

Well done!

[@swisssights]

Beautiful country! Greetings from Switzerland!

[@dutchdykefinger]

fun to see leiden covered like this, i live in alphen aan den rijn, a small city not too far from leiden, that is split through the middle by a extension for the rhine they dug up somewhere around 1589, so i've visited leiden many a time :D

[@user-qd2ct1ue4v]

wow,This is a better tour then they do in Holland itself

[@r.a.h7682]

i have almost seen all your videos on dutch cities and you're such a sweat man you look so friendly i really enjoy your vids.

[@denniscallan]

Thank you for being such a good viewer, I'm glad you like them.

[@FaDeNitroz]

I never had the chance to visit Leiden while I was in the Netherlands because we always end up in Amsterdam. Hopefully in the future I will come and visit this beautiful city. Thanks for sharing this wonderful informative video. It helps a lot as if I was there.

[@madanrudra3055]

Leiden is so beautiful and so attractive. U also informed very well. This is fantastic and superb video. Thank u very much.

[@user-qb7ms6vs7s]

great vid

[@alexgeorge3399]

very nice

[@user-lm4ji3cu8m]

I love Holland.

[@Beun007]

Dennis, I want to point to something really interesting: the star shaped (ancient) map of Leiden. That's also something historical and will be seen at more ancient maps of towns in NL. You'll be surprised...

[@jpete190]

Thank you!!!

[@yanuyanu7451]

Love.... Much from Java. Indonesia great video

[@RightNowMan]

Another brilliant , informative and entertaining video. Hats off to you and yours!

[@peteraerts3997]

Very beautiful video! And to think that there are some big museums you haven't even noted: Naturalis (Natural History Museum of the Netherlands), Rijksmuseum der Oudheden (Museum of the Ancient World) and Museum Volkenkunde (Museum on the Peoples of the world). I do advice everybody thinking about visiting the Netherlands to not only visit Amsterdam but really come to cities like Leiden, Haarlem and Delft.

[@denniscallan]

I do cover most of those museums in a different video, kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmXPpZShpdyLhLs

[@milolaland]

very nice video. thanks

[@Jozua86]

I was born in Leiden. Thanks for the video!

[@denniscallan]

That means a lot coming from a native, thanks. I love your town. You have some of the country's most beautiful canal-side walkways and terrace cafes.

[@princeovi]

I am planning to go there..tell me something good about your city

[@leidenpascual314]

what?

[@ArtTripper]

I wish I lived most anywhere in the Netherlands. I had the bad luck to be born in the USA. It's been a mess here as long as I can remember.

[@xanderkiela]

@@ArtTripper sorry to hear that! i still live in leiden haha

[@maxfunf]

Nice to see, if you ever come back to Leiden, you should make a video about 'Leidens Ontzet' (2/3 october). Its the biggest fair/festival in the city, nearly everyone gets free from work and everyone drinks and is having fun in the city these 2 days.

[@alexsandrasantos6549]

Muito lindo queria muito poder mora ai

[@BKbatra8012]

Wonderful, informative video, as if I'm there.

[@JoepHeki]

Lived in and around Leiden all my life and absolutely love the city. The city has so much to offer like museums and I've always found it has a great atmosphere with a lot of good bars and restaurants. It is cool to see this perspective from someone outside of the Netherlands and I feel it represented the city well.

[@BillMintjeHD-Brussels-Belgium]

Never been there, good to know this, will put in on my list. Thanks.

[@charliegil2007]

Thank you so much for this great informative video, I live here and I recently made a video just to get a glimpse of the city in 2 minutes.

[@denniscallan]

hi charles, I enjoyed your video, thanks, kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6m2ZZyKl6l4pKc

[@rogersexton7857]

This is an absolutely superb video! Two notes about Dutch Public Transportation (Trains, Trams, Metros and Buses). In terms of frequency of services, the Netherlands is even better than Switzerland. But visitors do have to get used to the complexities of the OV-Chipkaart

[@denniscallan]

Thanks Roger. I will be creating more Netherlands videos in coming weeks, including detailed descriptions of getting around by train, bus and tram with the Chipkaart, which works really well - one card for all public transit in the country, yes much better than Switzerland. You can purchase the at the airport upon arrival, load it up with extra funding, then get a refund of unused amount at same counter or other offices, on departure. Also easy to recharge during the trip if you run low. Amazing service.

[@angelg.8462]

@@denniscallan Can I use this particular card for trains going from city to city?

[@prinsezapheng8249]

Hello from the Netherlands

[@admirmehic8552]

Proud to click that 1000th like :D

[@denniscallan]

thank you -- I didn't realize it had that many, makes me feel good...and 53k views, wow one of my most popular Dutch videos, because it is such a wonderful town.

[@admirmehic8552]

It is excellent. Believe it or not, I have spent at least quarter of my childhood in Leiden but I was wheelchair and I have never been able to properly explore it. Now that I can walk again, I can't wait to return to Nederlands and explore. Your videos are above excellent and they have inspired me. I will follow your walking tour. Good luck in your future work.

[@janvanvelzen6584]

Take a Chanel tour with the “ Leidse rederij” Very Nice too

[@excelicsm7401]

Miss my family there

[@AudieHolland]

RE: Dutch railways services. Do NOT travel during peak hours unless you have to get to your job. During rush hour, some lines are so full that people have to stand for 20 minutes or half an hour even. So for tourists, best times to travel are between 9.00 and 16.00 and in between 18.30 en 6.30. During the weekends and on national holidays, you may travel all day (no peak hours). Weekend starts Friday 18: 30 and ends Monday 06: 30.

[@denniscallan]

Agreed, I have mentioned this repeatedly in my 22 movies about the NEtherlands, kzbin.info/aero/PLke86NFI6R8yHA2T5e7P38pniCONuuN_3

[@casey4290]

I want to move to Liden I live in the UK and I have wanted to live in the Netherlands ever since I went on holiday there in 2018

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

I studied Bahasa in Indonesia, but if you want to study classical Javanese you have to go to Leiden. The Indonesian lecturer was not too impressed about this.

[@alexsandrasantos6549]

Mim leva pra ir

[@johnvanderhulst4778]

I was in Leiden yesterday and I live in Noordwijk a place nearby, thanks for the video.

[@Beun007]

At 14:20 is real ancient Dutch, spoken and written centuries ago.

[@zerocool0510]

Hi @denniscallan can I add subtitles to your videos about Netherlands? Croatian subtitles. There is no feature enabled to add them currently

[@lorrainegrunseit1934]

How do l get a copy of your Tour map, l don't see a link in the description. Love your videos Tha.nks Lorraine

[@nellazvlog]

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️🇳🇱

[@Beun007]

The homes at 13:09 of from the 1980's my friend...

[@denniscallan]

Thank you for that. I do call them "new" in comparison with most other buildings that are centuries old. I guess the 80's are recent or not depending on how old you are 😀

[@jefferadus8582]

Best city of Holland leiden

[@Man-in-the-green]

Best city in what?

[@jefferadus8582]

@@Man-in-the-green les tourists more real life

[@Beun007]

Dennis, there is an old Dutch saying that says: haring en witte brood, Leiden is uit de nood! This is something historical! You figure it out when that was, ok...? ;-)

[@armanhossen8950]

I very much love Netherlands ❤,,, And i want to job here,, i wanna stay here in future,, that's possible???

[@Lunavii_Cellest]

Its not only possible its very easy, nearly everone can speak english, the only thing that can be hard is that the prices of the houses are very expensive, a row house in the usa can be 100k $ but in the netherlands and can sometimes be over €500k or 593k $

[@aorta538]

21:42 Asian and Dutch cyclists in one shot :) Love from Am*dam

[@raymagee9534]

Your caption reads, "There's half a dozen of these very peaceful waterways..." In fact there are dozens, not half a dozen. 17 kilometers of canals.

[@denniscallan]

I am just referring to the central area within the Singel canal, the several canals there, not all the surroundings.

[@attahallelujah794]

🇲🇨🤝🇳🇱

[@AudieHolland]

Just a comment for any Americans watching. Imagine, America could have the same level of old city center preservation as we have done in Europe. America not that old? True, but most preserved parts in European cities and towns are not that old either. Like, if they're from the 1700s, that's pretty old already. When were The Thirteen Colonies founded again? Somewhere in the 1600s... Even if they didn't build many impressive buildings early on, surely they did in the mid and late 1700s. Just look at the handful of few preserved buildings from that time, like the Old State House in Boston. Of course we do have some older buildings in Europe, like churches and cathedrals that were originally built in the Middleages. But what exactly does the process of 'renovation' or 'restoration' mean? Well, if it's really old, it means breaking down the structure brick by brick, carefully numbering the pieces, cleaning and if neccessary, replacing them, then building it all up again. They do not have to do this with every old building, in many cases just a partial rebuilt will suffice.

[@HGZie]

The US likes to hold on to its bullshit traditions because it is such a young nation with no other history to hold on to, unlike Europe or Asian nations lmao. I can't count the times places in the US have tried to show off their 'historic' church from like 1880. The dumpster behind a mcdonalds in Paris is older than that

[@AlonsoRules]

should have visited this place and stayed overnight instead of the extra night in Amsterdam before going on to London - oh well

[@panduranga7547]

Subtittle telugu speech

[@owenchase4017]

Very nice video, but you really should look into changing to a healthier diet. More plant foods and less eggs, cheese, meat, etc. They may taste good but they are the fast lane to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

[@denniscallan]

I'm a vegetarian at home, and don't eat much meat elsewhere either. All my vital signs are good, thank you for your concern.

[@Beun007]

That ugly grey residential area is from the 80s! YUK! I wouldn't be found dead in there!

[@RichardRenes]

Talks about draining the land with windmills, then shows Molen 'de Valk' which is a flour mill

[@denniscallan]

Yes, which I explain as we tour inside the windmill, where I mention the three main kinds of windmill, grinding grain, pumping water, cutting wood.

[@AudieHolland]

@@denniscallan Thank you for the most detailed information. I am sure most Dutch didn't even know why that city mill is so high up and I had never known Leiden even has one of the oldest Motte and Bailey castles!

[@willemdebest3237]

Leiden, Haarlem, Delft, Utrecht, Maastricht are beautiful cities in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is one of the dirtiest ones. It has a name that you have to be there. But it is not Holland. The true culture you find in the other cities. Clean and fresh and not as dirty and smelling like Amsterdam. I know, I am from Holland.

[@Man-in-the-green]

Willem je zet jezelf helemaal voor lul met die gekke uitspraken over Amsterdam. If you want everything spic and span go to Dreftland.

[@mvdsanden]

More than half of Holland under sea level? Windmills since app. the year 1000? Do some fact checking first!

[@denniscallan]

I could have said more than half of Holland is less than one meter above sea level, and windmills, which were used in Persia over 1,000 ago, made it to Holland 700 years ago, ok? I hope my other 4,000 words and the visuals pass your examination.

[@AudieHolland]

@@denniscallan Don't mind the Dutch nit-pickers. Most Dutch don't know their history in such detail anyway. I remember this chart from secondary school: google Hoogtekaart Nederland. The dark blue parts are definitely under sea level, the light blue parts guarantuee wet feet and the yellow more earthly colors indicate 'dry land.'

[@angelg.8462]

@@denniscallan Love your videos of the Netherlands, thanks!🌷🌹