A Private Culinary Tour Through Leiden

The Culinary Tour starts at Beestenmarkt in Leiden, about a 5-minute walk from Leiden Central Station.

Our Culinary Tour takes you through the center of Leiden where you can enjoy major sights and get an impression of Leiden city life. We will be visiting local bars, artisan shops, a gin tasting, a chocolate workshop, a restaurant, and a lot of things in between.

The guided Culinary Tour lasts 4–5 hours, including the tastings, chocolate workshop and pub crawl. At the end, your guide steps back so you can enjoy dinner privately and at your own pace. If you wish to have a shorter or longer tour, send us a message and let's see how we can best accommodate your needs.

A Gin Tasting, Dutch cheese, a Chocolate Workshop, artisanal apple pie, a Dutch pub crawl with drinks and snacks along the way, and a Classic Leiden Dinner to finish. Your guide accompanies you through the tastings and the pub crawl, then steps back for dinner so you can enjoy the meal privately and at your own pace.

Our tours are available in English and Dutch. Our guides speak both, so you don't have to select a language during booking.

On all our tours we suggest to dress for the weather and bring comfortable shoes for walking through the city.

Plans can change and unforeseen things can happen; we understand! You can cancel or reschedule the Culinary Tour free of charge up to 48 hours before departure.

Please let us know about any dietary requirements or allergies in advance so we can make sure every stop on the tour works for you.

Yes, specifically our Culinary Tour is well-suited to start at the end of the afternoon and continue into the evening.

Leiden's best bites aren't always on the main street — a lot of them sit behind a canal house door or down a side alley you'd walk straight past on your own. A guided food tour solves that: your guide already knows which gin bar, which chocolate maker and which pub are worth the stop, so you can spend the afternoon tasting rather than searching. If history and art interest you more, our Cultural Tour covers Leiden's museums and churches instead, and the Active Leiden Experience is there if you'd rather work up an appetite first. Prefer to see the city from the water? Our sister site Discover Canal Cruises runs private boat tours through Leiden's canals.

We advise you to be at the departure spot 10 minutes before departure so we can maximize your time exploring the city.

The Culinary Tour is private for 2 to 6 people. Have a larger group? Send us a message and we’ll see what we can arrange.

Yes, the Culinary Tour runs all year round.

The Culinary Tour goes ahead in most weather. We recommend dressing for the conditions; if the weather becomes genuinely unsafe, we’ll contact you to reschedule.

We’re happy to create a custom, personal experience together with you — just tell us what you have in mind

There's plenty to taste in Leiden, from gin bars and chocolate makers tucked along the canals to the pubs locals actually drink in. A Culinary Tour where your guide already knows the best stops, and takes care of tastings, pairings and reservations, is the easiest way to experience that side of the city. If you'd rather dig into Leiden's history and art, our Cultural Tour covers that ground, and the Active Leiden Experience is there for a more physical day out. You can also see the city from the water with our sister site, Discover Canal Cruises.

Tickets for the Culinary Tour can be ordered through our website by clicking on the booking button under the tours. The button will open up a calendar where you can select your preferred date and time, select how many guests will be joining the tour, and select any other tour-specific options. For the Culinary Tour, you can find it on this page here.

Unfortunately not everything in the city is easily accessible for guests with limited mobility. Please contact us to discuss your situation so we can look for solutions together.

On most of our tours some drinks and snacks or food are included, so generally there is no need to bring your own, but you are welcome to do so if you like.
In case of special dietary requirements, please contact us.

You'll be accompanied by a local guide through the tastings, the workshop and the pub crawl. For dinner, your guide steps back so you and your group can enjoy the meal privately and at your own pace.