This museum houses the first T-Rex skeleton in Europe. Its sections span botany, geology, entomology (insects), invertebrates, vertebrates and palaeontology (fossils and more) collected by Dutch explorers, archaeologists and scientists all over the globe.
Naturalis Biodiversity Centre
Leiden
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
21.87 MILES
This wonderful museum traces Van Gogh's life and artistic development via the world's largest collection of his work. More than 200 canvases are on…
22.05 MILES
Attracting over 12 million visitors per year, Amsterdam’s favorite playground is the green expanse of Vondelpark, with its 116 acres (47 hectares) of…
22.7 MILES
Visiting the Anne Frank Huis is one of Amsterdam's most profound experiences. Tragically, of the 107,000 Jewish adults and children deported from the…
22.08 MILES
The Netherlands’ top treasure house, the Rijksmuseum (pronounced ‘rikes’), is among the world's finest art museums. With over 1.5km of galleries, it packs…
23.04 MILES
Housed in Rembrandt's former home on lively Jodenbreestraat, this evocative museum provides an unparalleled insight into one of the Netherlands’ greatest…
16.78 MILES
Designed and built between 1925 and 1931, this modernist World Heritage–listed factory northwest of the city centre is an icon of 20th-century industrial…
8.92 MILES
Offering a wonderful introduction to Dutch and Flemish art, this splendid museum is set in a 17th-century mansion built for wealthy sugar trader Johan…
14.69 MILES
Impressive for both its size and its magnificent stained-glass windows, Sint Janskerk had chequered beginnings: previous incarnations of the building…
Nearby Leiden attractions
0.4 MILES
Cultural achievements by civilisations worldwide are showcased at this splendid museum, which has a collection of more than 300,000 artefacts from across…
0.43 MILES
One of two still-standing historic city gates (there were originally eight), the Morspoort was built in 1669 to a design by Willem van der Helm, who also…
0.56 MILES
Leiden's landmark tower windmill – built in 1743 and now a museum – is considered one of the best examples of its kind. Its arms still occasionally rotate…
0.62 MILES
Leiden's foremost museum reopened in 2019 following a three-year renovation. Its 1640-built premises (a former cloth warehouse) again displays its…
0.64 MILES
The Netherlands' oldest university was a gift to Leiden from Willem the Silent in 1575 for withstanding two Spanish sieges in 1573 and 1574. The campus…
0.68 MILES
Home to the Rijksmuseum's collection of Greek, Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian artefacts, this museum is best known for its Egyptian halls, which include the…
0.71 MILES
Named in honour of physician, botanist, chemist and University of Leiden teacher Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738), this impressive museum of science and…
0.72 MILES
Founded by the University of Leiden in 1590, this is one of Europe's oldest botanical gardens (the oldest was created in Padua, Italy, in 1545). The…