Leiden is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It’s surrounded by nearby cities as Valkenburg en Leiderdorp and located on the Old Rhine, in between Den Haag and Amsterdam. It’s a rather small city with a population of just under 120 thousand people.

Leiden is an old charming town and has many main attractions such as the Museum of Antiquities with an excellent collection Egyptian, Greece and Romanian artifacts and the Pieterskerk with the tomb of John Robinson, the Pilgrim Fathers leader. One of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, planted in 1578 called the Hortus Botanicus is a must have seen. Most of the sight seeings are near each other and located at the major canal in the center Rapenburg.

The city of Leiden is being dominated by many Dutch and international students. Because of that, the city has a rich nightlife which means that especially on the weekend days pubs and bars are filled. Another interesting fact to know that if you enter a club before 1:00 AM (2:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays) you can stay in till the place closes. The prices compared to other big cities as Amsterdam and Rotterdam are low, a fine dinner at the many restaurants at the Nieuwe Rijn river are therefore recommended.

Travelers to Leiden need a valid passport and visa to pass through Amsterdam Schiphol airport. American citizens can visit without a visa for up to 90 days. Leiden is a relatively small city so a good way to get round in the city is to rent bicycle or simply walk. The best time of the year to visit Leiden is between June and August this is when its summer in the Netherlands.