Obviously, when visiting the Netherlands, many years ago now, I had to visit the city which bears my surname (Leyden is an often-seen alternative spelling). By a bizarre coincidence, while I was standing waiting at the very busy main station in Amsterdam for my train, a man, probably Dutch, certainly not a native English speaker, approached and asked in English if I know from which platforn the train to Leyden was leaving. Given that he could presumably read the large Departures board as well or as badly as I could, that just amplified the coincidence in my mind.
Leiden is an ancient University city with many historic buildings and museums. Leiden University was founded in 1575 and is now one of Europe’s leading international research universities.
One of the museums in the city is the Leiden American Pilgrim museum which tells the stories of the founders of New England, including their leader, John Robinson, who lived in Pieterskerkchoorsteeg, in the centre of the city.
Leiden also has plenty of terraces and cafes, and is only surpassed by Amsterdam for waterways and bridges (28 km of waterways and 88 bridges). As well as regular interpreted boat tours along the canals, it’s possible to rent electric boats to go as you please.
Leiden’s canals were incorporated into the city plan as early as the seventeenth century. The outer canal was dug to protect the city. The historic inner city is surrounded by a six kilometer moat. Leiden’s moats are among the biggest city fortifications in Europe with an intact structure. Leiden’s canals run through the city and are lined by docks on which trees have grown, to anchor boats.
holland.com
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