Museums in Leiden: science, antiquity and Rembrandt

When you look at the museums in Leiden, you get a surprising amount of choice for such a compact city. That comes from the university, the oldest in the Netherlands, which has been collecting for centuries. As a result, Leiden has several national museums. You see antiquities, natural history and five centuries of science here. Leiden is also the city where Rembrandt was born. All the museums lie in or near the old centre, within walking distance of the station. Below you read which ones belong at the top of your list.

Three national museums make Leiden stand out. Naturalis, a short walk from Leiden Centraal, is about nature and evolution, and there you stand face to face with Trix the T. rex. It is the biggest draw for families. The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, the national museum of antiquities on the Rapenburg, has a real Egyptian temple in its hall and takes you to Egypt, Greece, Rome and the earliest Netherlands. Rijksmuseum Boerhaave covers the history of science and medicine, with the microscopes of Van Leeuwenhoek and the fountain pen of Einstein. Each of these three is worth half a day, so do not plan all of them at once.

Museum De Lakenhal is the museum of Leiden itself, with art by Leiden painters and the story of the cloth industry. This is where you see The Last Judgement by Lucas van Leyden and the earliest Rembrandt, a fitting sight in the city where he was born. At Molenmuseum De Valk you find out how a miller's family lived and worked, and you climb up inside the windmill for a view over the rooftops. The Japanmuseum SieboldHuis and the Pilgrim Museum show how Leiden was connected to the wider world, from Japan to America. These smaller museums are easy to combine with one of the big three.

Two large museums in one day is a comfortable maximum. A good plan is to start at Naturalis, close to the station, and then walk into the old centre for De Lakenhal or one of the smaller museums. The museums in the centre are ten to twenty minutes on foot from Leiden Centraal, and on the way along the Rapenburg you pass the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. Naturalis advises booking your ticket online, also with a Museumkaart, the Dutch annual museum pass, so you are sure of getting in. If you want to see the Rexperience, book it at the same time, because it needs a separate ticket.

Here is the full list, from national museum to windmill. They all lie within half an hour's walk of each other.

• De Lakenhal (in Dutch)History
• Japanmuseum SieboldHuis (in Dutch)Art
• Molenmuseum De Valk (in Dutch)Heritage
• NaturalisScience
• Pilgrim Museum (in Dutch)History
• Rijksmuseum Boerhaave (in Dutch)Science
• Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (in Dutch)History
• Wereldmuseum Leiden (in Dutch)History