Rembrandt's birthplace, oldest Dutch university, and beer tapped from a windmill
Leiden is the Netherlands' most intellectually charged small city — birthplace of Rembrandt van Rijn, home to the oldest university in the Netherlands (1575), and the site of the 1574 Spanish Siege relief whose commemoration still shapes the city's annual Leidens Ontzet festival each October 3rd. Its maze of historic canals, almshouses, and 16th-century fortress mound (Burcht) sit just 45 minutes from Amsterdam, making it one of Holland's most rewarding day trips.
Leiden was one of the most important cities in the Dutch Golden Age — its university (founded in 1575 as a reward for withstanding the Spanish Siege) attracted René Descartes, John Locke, and later Einstein. The Pilgrim Fathers spent 11 years in Leiden (1609–1620) before sailing for America; you can still visit their houses in the Pieterskerkhof. The 17th-century cloth trade made the city wealthy enough to attract Rembrandt (born here in 1606), Jan Steen, and Gerrit Dou — the so-called Leiden Fine Painters.