Wall Poems of Leiden

The basics

With verses unfolding on old houses, new buildings, busy squares, and hidden courtyards, almost any walking route through Leiden will reveal a string of the famous Wall Poems. Covering different themes and drawn from different eras and countries, they collectively offer a fascinating window into human thought, emotion, and imagination through the ages.

Visitors can explore Leiden independently to see the poems as they wish, perhaps following the many maps and suggested routes available online. You’ll also see them appear along the way on guided Leiden walking tours covering sights like St. Peter’s Church and Rembrandt Square. Some self-guided Leiden walking trails also make a point of stopping at selected poems.

Things to know before you go

• The Wall Poems of Leiden will inspire poetry and literary enthusiasts, deep thinkers, history buffs, and urban art aficionados.

• About 90 poems are located in Leiden’s canal-woven old center, with the remaining scattered around the city’s outskirts.

• Poem locations and walking routes are easy to find online.

• Since poems are in their original languages, it pays to have a translation app handy.

How to get there

The best way to see Leiden’s Wall Poems is on foot, either independently or on a city sightseeing tour. In the old city, a good starting point is the corner of Nonnensteeg/Rapenburg Canal—the location of Basho’s “Aroumiya”—before walking to Rapenburg/Houtstraat, along Gerecht, around St. Peter’s Church, and along Zonneveldstraat to the Nieuwe Rijn canal. This route reveals eight poems in a roughly 20-minute walk .

When to get there

One of the charms of the Wall Poems of Leiden is that they’re available to read any day, free of charge. The poems aren’t floodlit after dark, so you’ll need to visit during daylight hours to fully see and appreciate them.

Must-see wall poems in Leiden

The Wall Poems are more than literary treasures—they’re works of art. Among the most visually striking are Basho’s “Aroumiya,” painted in Japanese calligraphy at Nonnensteeg/Rapenburg, and the “shape” poems, whose layouts match their theme. One of the best is the tornado-shaped “Creek Fable,” an Indigenous American poem about whirlwinds, at Bergsteeg/Nieuwe Rijn.