The 17th century old Leiden

The fond memories of The Netherlands are always associated with the Amsterdam city, the cheese market, the "candies" and the alluring night life of the Red Light District.

Truth is, the Dutch land has more to offer.

About 40 km from Amsterdam, lies a quaint town of Leiden. It is probably the second largest 17th-century town centre in The Netherlands after Amsterdam. 

As we walked into the Dutch province of South Holland in an early morning of November 2011, our sights were only limited to 40 metres ahead due to the heavy fog enveloping the quiet town. We took the opportunity to explore the historical and cultural place before the town was fully awake.

Enriched in historical fortifications, Leiden is also a university city since 1575. It is a home to Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Centre and has twinned with the England oldest university location, Oxford since 1946.

 

Despite having a mere 22 square kilometres of land, Leiden has numerous small canals and that made it excellent for offering canal tour packages as well as setting up cafes or bistros along the waters.

One thing that you will most probably not missed, albeit the mist and fog is the windmill! It certainly is the landmark of the country and it is massive. If you are absolutely fond of windmills, do visit De Valk, the windmill museum.

A 16th-century building, the Town Hall (Stadhuis Leiden)

I imagine the town will be much more charming during summer or perhaps even spring, when flowers are blooming and butterflies are round and about.

It seemed we had missed one important building during our exploration amidst the fog (we had to be careful not to walk into waters as the visibility was pretty bad in some parts of the town, especially near the canals) - the castle De Burcht. You may check out more information here, if you are interested.

You will probably not enjoy Leiden as much if you like hippie and vibrant city life. However, you might consider celebrating the annual 3 Oktober Festival (not to be confused with Oktoberfest) with the locals. The festival commemorates the anniversary of the 1573–1574 Siege of Leiden, during the Eighty Years' War, when the Spanish Army attempted to capture the city.

There will be parades, traditional food hutspot and Dutch herring, partying and of course, drinking all day.