The Most Instagramable Places In Leeuwarden
/Discover how versatile and fun the Frisian capital is, the city that is only one hour and a half away from Amsterdam.
In Leeuwarden's picturesque city center, it is lovely to wander through alleys, over canals, along terraces, and between the many concept stores. Leeuwarden is a pocket-sized worldly city with a hefty dose of Frisian flair. You won't get bored in Leeuwarden at all: historic mansions, atmospheric canals, hundreds of monuments, fascinating museums and many shops and restaurants. It is not without reason that Leeuwarden is called Little Amsterdam. Therefore, it is the ideal city for a day trip, with more than enough fun things to do.
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One of the city's main attractions is the Grote Kerk or Jacobijnerkerk (Jacobijnerkerkhof 95). Its construction started before 1300 and lasted until after 1500. It is, therefore, the oldest monument in the city. If you really want to explore the old city center of Leeuwarden, you first cross the canal. If you do this after a short walk on the Willemskade and Westersingel, you will automatically arrive at the Vrouwenpoortsbrug. Please pay particular attention to the charming bridge keeper's house with its black and white striped shutters and spacious conservatory.
Close by you can see Oldehove, the leaning tower is the city's calling card, a bit like its more famous one in Pisa. Also called the Pisa of Leeuwarden, its leaning construction characterizes the tower de Oldehove. While the intention was to turn it into a church at the start of construction in 1529, the tower was never actually finished. During construction, the tower sagged, and unfortunately, it could not be repaired. As a result, construction was halted in 1533 in the current state of the Oldehove. A tower without a few important functions, except a symbol for the city and its inhabitants. Climbing is possible: the tower is open daily from 28 March to the end of October. If you look closer to the tower walls, you will find miniature people, which are also displayed all over the city.
Those who prefer to keep their feet firmly on the ground can enjoy the Obe podium, which is free of charge.
You can catch your breath in style in the eighteenth-century city palace that now houses the Princessehof Ceramics Museum. In the salon, a real tea sommelier serves special teas, and they taste best in the museum garden, with a view of the Oldehove.
According to the Leeuwarders, Kleine Kerkstraat is one of the nicest shopping streets in the Netherlands. But there is more to do than just shopping.
You can have a stroll in Prinsentuin, a beautiful park during this time in the same area. You will pass by Beatrixboom, a beautiful tree planted in 1980 and a girl's sculpture on the bike in the last winter of the war. Here, a small museum and a temple dedicated to the Frisian sculptor Pier Pander (1864-1919), a skipper boy from Drachten, grew into one of his most influential artists. The temple was specially designed by Pander to house his life's work: a group of five marble statues representing his vision of how an artist creates art.
Next to this, you can find the DNA Wall of Connection - artwork from 16880 tubes that contain unique content with a story behind each of them. All these tubes with their stories are brought together here. You can read each story on dnaleeuwarden.nl.
Want to leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind? Then take a walk to the hidden courtyards and guest houses in the city center: Cockaigne, Boshuisengasthuis, and Saint Anthony Gasthuis. You will find an oasis of peace here; it is as if time has stood still here. I really loved Boshuisen Almshouse - which was built in 1651 and was hosting old single women, regardless of their religion, and they could enjoy the residence for free. That means tolerance between different religions was possible centuries ago. Another beautiful architectural building is the New Saint Anthony Almshouse, where for years, the marvelous garden has been an oasis of silence in the inner city. Stadtholder's stables and Riding Academy are very close by as well, and in the Napoleonic Era, part of the French cavalry was housed in the stables here.
With no fewer than 617 National Monuments, there is more than enough to see in Leeuwarden between stops. The Special Criminal Prison and Detention House Blokhuispoort (Blokhuisplein 40) was closed in 2009. Since 2010 it has been a museum showing the history of this prison, which has existed since 1500. You could experience the living conditions in the buildings that have stood on Blokhuisplein and Keizersgracht over the centuries. Buildings that served as a fortress, a house of correction, and a prison. Today, around 100 entrepreneurs work here in an inspiring environment (together), who deliver the best products and services. You will find shops in Cellenblok H, a hostel called Alibi, and Drink & Eetlokaal Proefverlof. A wide variety of cultural events are also organized. You can also get guided tours of the old prison by former guards. You will even find the Bieb, voted the most beautiful library in the Netherlands in 2019. What is remarkable is that since 2016 the complex has been heated completely sustainably with biomass.
Another exciting artwork is the Love Fontaine, a 7-meter high white sculpture of a boy and a girl faces turned towards each other. This sculpture is right in front of the train station. I definitely advise you to go inside the station even if you are not planning to leave the city yet. It's one of the most beautiful stations in the Netherlands, where the original station has been preserved.
Take a stroll to the monumental post office, which was completely renovated a few years ago and transformed into Post Plaza. This was done with a lot of taste and style: in the grand café, authentic neo-gothic details, such as richly decorated pillars and supporting beams, play the leading role, and modern elements, such as spectacular chandeliers, make it thoroughly contemporary. If you decide to stay overnight, there the building is now a great 4* hotel.
The Saint Boniface Church (Bonifatiusplein 20) is one of the highlights of architect Pierre Cuypers. According to the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, it is "a significant neo-gothic church with cathedral appeal". The church was built between 1882 and 1884. It is a sizeable three-aisled cross basilica in the neo-gothic style. Leeuwarden has many good museums.
The most famous museum is the Fries Museum. Here you will get to know Leeuwarden and Friesland. Discover everything about the eleven cities, the countryside, and the love-hate relationship with Friesland's water. Besides, they have lots of fun exhibitions throughout the year.
View the city from the air
Do you happen to be in Leeuwarden on a Saturday? A good day to view Leeuwarden from the top. Because on Saturdays, you have the opportunity to view Leeuwarden from Achmeatoren. At the top of the tower, you have a view of the city, and with a bit of luck, you can see the islands. Reserve your ticket in time at the VVV Leeuwarden. Achmeatoren
When you walk through Leeuwarden, one thing is impossible not to see it: street art. The whole city is bursting with it. And that is not just like that. Part of it has been legally applied by artists from all over the world (supplemented with non-legal art, of course).
De Waag has always been the center of trade. This building was built around 1595, in Renaissance style. The merchants were obliged to have their goods weighed at the city weighing house. After all, a reliable weighing facility was in the interest of trade and, therefore, also good for the city's prosperity. In Leeuwarden, butter was mainly traded, so the weigh house was known as a butter weigh house. The Waag on the Nieuwestad was in use until 1880.
One more Instagramable spot in Leeuwarden is the Centraal Pharmacy. Actually, my day trip started with this beautiful Art Nouveau building. This pharmacy is one of the few successful examples in this style, based on floral motifs, which flourished mainly around the turn of the century and represented a complete break with preceding styles. Moreover, unlike most of the other examples, the pharmacy has managed to avoid drastic disfigurement. Apart from the slate roofing, the entrance door, and the leaded glass toplights added in 1940, the facade is still in its original state.
Although you will encounter all kinds of art on the streets in the city, one of the nicest art projects is one that you could miss. Photographer Michel Tilma has placed mini-people throughout the city in places where you would normally not look. Just for fun, but once you know they're there, you'll want to see more. We walk through the Poëziesteeg - where doors are relieved with short verses - to the parking garage De Klanderij. About thirty graffiti artists renovated this building, and nowadays, there is almost no ordinary wall left. Very cool to see!
One of the absolute must-do during a day in Leeuwarden is a cruise through the canals. Not only do you see the canals in a completely different way. The skipper will also tell you a lot about the city. You can opt for an organized cruise, but you can also rent an electric boat yourself. Outside the city, but close by is Park Vijversburg. In the park open to the public, on a historic estate in Tietjerksteradeel, you can walk along historic winding paths, get lost in the Dwaalster, and find landscape art.
