National Museum of Antiquities

"Amsterdam may have a ton of museums, but if you'll believe me, The Netherlands' best museums are located in Leiden. Perhaps it's due to Leiden also being home to the oldest university in the country, but the city is truly bustling with knowledge to be shared. There is the 'National Museum of Antiquities', 'Naturalis', 'Corpus', 'Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis', 'World Museum', etc. etc. There is simply too much choice! Leiden's botanical gardens are (in my humble opinion) also the very best you'll find in The Netherlands. The greenhouses are gorgeous, filled with an enormous amount of different species. Outside, there is a lot of information on biodiversity and the evolution of fauna. In summer, you'll also be greeted by blooming flowers. And have I mentioned that Leiden's city centre is full of canals? Really the only negative thing to be said about this astonishing place is the lack of greenery. Leiden is one of the "stoniest" cities in the country. Now on to the churches: the 'Pieterskerk' is the biggest, most impressive one. But as you can see from the top of the 'Burcht', there are many more. Depending on your interests, it's well worth visiting a few to admire the architecture and decoration."

"The National Museum of Antiquities is housed in an old monumental building. It is the Dutch centre for archaeology and a large part of the collection consists of objects related to ancient Egypt. Unique is the two thousand year old Egyptian temple in the central hall of the museum. Besides ancient Egypt, the museum covers the Middle East, the Classical world and the early history of the Netherlands. The entire collection consists of more than 80,000 objects, including statues of Roman emperors, Etruscan tomb finds and mummies."