Leiden

Leiden is inland city close to the Hague and Amsterdam in Holland, Northern Central Europe. Leiden is an old charming university town, halfway between Amsterdam and The Hague. At its heart, Leiden's antique center is a maze of narrow lanes that wriggle and worm their way around a complicated network of canals, one of which marks the line of the medieval walls. Leiden's multitude of bars and cafés are kept afloat by the thirsty students of the city's one great institution, its university, one of Europe's most prestigious seats of learning. Leiden is also within easy striking distance of the Dutch bulb-fields and the showpiece Keukenhof gardens as well as the amenable North Sea resort of Katwijk-aan-Zee and its long sandy beach The town is home to the oldest and most famous Dutch university, founded in 1575. It has a good railway link with Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Hague and other major Dutch towns. Trains run almost every 15 minutes. The connection to Amsterdam takes 40 minutes, to Rotterdam 30 minutes and to The Hague takes 10 minutes. When visiting Leiden be advised to check out the places that offer special prices and happy hours each day of the week, as there is the most probable place to meet many of the interesting students living in the city. A good idea is to get to know the city center and landmarks in the first day of your visit, as this will help you to find your way much easier the rest of the days. Main attractions are the Museum of Antiquities with an excellent collection of artifacts from Egypt, Greece and Rome, the Hortus Botanicus - one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, planted in 1578 and the Pieterskerk with the tomb of John Robinson, leader of the Pilgrim Fathers. Most of the sights are very close to each other, on or near the Rapenburg, a major canal in the center. And don't forget - there are tons more of attractions, activities and interesting places to see in the city of Leiden, visit them and write here at HolidayStreets.com about their beauty and mystery!