By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 28 October 2026

Parents kissing over their baby on the white Rembrandtbrug in Leiden, the low November sun drawing the beams of the bridge as shadows on the deck
The Rembrandtbrug at 13:31 on a November afternoon

These photo spots in Leiden all come from my own sessions in the old center. They lie in three areas: the lanes around the Pieterskerk, the Rapenburg by the Hortus botanicus, and the Morspoort with Molen De Put. Each area is enough for a whole session on its own.

This guide is for couples and families who like to see a place before they book. For every spot, you read when I photographed there, what the light did and where the walk went next. Still deciding? Start with how I work as a photographer in Leiden.

At a glance

Spots
1 A café lane by the Burcht | 2 A red door under a carved face | 3 The Pieterskerkhof | 4 The red doors of the Pieterskerk | 5 The Hoogstraat | 6 The Rapenburg by the Hortus | 7 The Morspoort | 8 Molen De Put | 9 The Rembrandtbrug
Areas
Around the Pieterskerk (1–5) | The Rapenburg (6) | The Morspoort and Molen De Put (7–9)
Per session
One area for a one-hour session
Light in these sessions
August sun and deep shade | September sun on film | Low November sun
Crowds
Weekdays are usually quieter than weekends

Photo Spots Around the Pieterskerk

The first area is the heart of the old center, around the Pieterskerk, the great late-Gothic church of Leiden. Two summer sessions walked these lanes in early August, six days apart. Both stopped at the same red door and sat on the same bench, so you can compare them side by side.

1. A Café Lane to the Burcht

August, 13:16 | Café terraces and flower baskets | Three minutes from spot 2

Couple walking hand in hand down a cobbled café lane toward the Burcht gate, a photo spot in Leiden with wine barrels and flower baskets

One session began in a cobbled lane lined with café tables, wine barrels and hanging baskets of flowers. At its end stands the gate of the Burcht, the old fortress on its hill in the center, with a stone lion on top. While the couple walked toward me, the gate and the turrets beside it closed the view.

2. A Red Door Under a Carved Face

August, 12:33 and 13:19 | Deep red doors in a stone facade | Three minutes from the Pieterskerkhof

A few lanes away, a pair of tall red doors sits in a stone facade, under a carved face with wings. Both sessions stopped here. From across the lane, the whole facade fits the frame, tall arched windows included. Step closer, and the red fills it from edge to edge.

Tall stone facade with three arched windows and carved winged skulls above a deep red door, the expecting couple small at its foot as he kisses her hair
Couple leaning close against a deep red door, her head tilted toward his shoulder and both smiling while the red fills the whole frame
The same door at 12:34 and at 13:20, six days apart

3. The Pieterskerkhof

August, 12:54–12:59 and 13:23–13:26 | One broad tree, deep shade | A round wooden bench

The square around the church is the Pieterskerkhof. On one side, a broad tree spreads its branches over a round wooden bench, with small brick houses behind it. Under the leaves, the light stays soft and even, while the open square next to it can lie in full sun.

Couple laughing on a wooden bench in the deep shade of the broad tree on the Pieterskerkhof, small brick houses with green doors behind
Expecting couple sitting close on a round wooden bench in dappled shade, her rust-red dress bright against the small brick houses behind
The round bench at 13:25 and at 12:56

From experience

Both August sessions had a bright sky over the open streets. Under the tree on the Pieterskerkhof, the shade was deep and even, so faces stayed soft and the houses behind kept their color. Meanwhile, the same sun gave crisp light and strong color on the open square. I work with whatever the day brings, and here both kinds of light are only a few steps apart.

Couple standing in a long cobbled lane with an old lamppost and potted plants, brick houses on both sides, on a summer photo walk in Leiden
A quiet lane with lanterns at 12:46, between the red door and the bench

4. The Red Doors of the Pieterskerk

August, 13:40–13:45 | A quiet street with potted plants | Bright red church doors

Couple dancing in a quiet street, his hand raised as she turns, potted roses beside them and the bright red doors of the Pieterskerk ahead

Nearby, a quiet street runs straight to a pair of bright red doors in the pale wall of the church. Potted plants line the houses on one side. Here I asked the couple to dance, and passers-by simply walked around them. The whole walk is in a summer walk past the red doors of Leiden.

5. The Hoogstraat by the Water

August, 14:10–14:12 | Where the Oude Rijn and the Nieuwe Rijn meet | The Waag across the water

The same walk ended back by the water, on the Hoogstraat. Here the Oude Rijn and the Nieuwe Rijn meet, right behind the Burcht where the session began. By the railing stands a lamppost hung with red geraniums, with café terraces on the water and the old weigh house, the Waag, across it.

Couple by the railing of the Hoogstraat, a photo spot in Leiden with a lamppost full of red geraniums and the Waag across the water
The Hoogstraat at 14:10, the Waag behind

On the way there, we also passed a painted gateway and a narrow wooden footbridge. Six days later, an expecting couple found the same red door and bench. Their hour is in a red dress and a baby bump in Leiden.

The Rapenburg by the Hortus Botanicus

Just west of the Pieterskerk runs the Rapenburg, the best-known canal in Leiden, with grand houses and the Academy building of the university along it. Of the photo spots in Leiden in this guide, this is the one I photographed on film. In September, a couple walked here with me on a roll of Kodak Gold 200, one frame at a time.

6. The Rapenburg and the Hortus Gate

September, a sunny day | Kodak Gold 200 color film | A bench, an arched bridge, quiet lanes

Couple on a bench before the Hortus botanicus gate, seen across the Rapenburg past a tree trunk, photos in Leiden on a roll of Kodak Gold

On the far quay, a bench stands right in front of the gate of the Hortus botanicus, the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. I photographed it from the opposite side, so the canal fills the foreground and the gate closes the view. The trees along the water kept the canal dark and green.

Arched brick bridge mirrored in still canal water, a man in black waving from the railing under a clear September sky, on color film
An arched bridge on the same roll of Kodak Gold 200

On the same walk, an arched brick bridge mirrored itself in the still water under a clear September sky. The same roll also found white stone steps in the sun, a café with stained glass and a narrow street under a pink flag. Every frame of that roll is in back in Leiden on a roll of Kodak Gold.

Couple in black sitting hand in hand on white stone steps in the sun, both smiling, a warm color frame on Kodak Gold 200 film
Couple in black walking down a narrow street, bikes along the walls and a pink flag overhead, color film photos from a September walk in Leiden
White steps and a narrow street, both on Kodak Gold 200

The Morspoort and Molen De Put

The third area lies on the western edge of the old center. Here a city gate, a windmill and a white drawbridge stand within a few minutes of each other. I photographed a family here on a November afternoon, from 13:11 to 13:55.

7. The Morspoort and Its Drawbridge

November, 13:11–13:14 | A white drawbridge before the gate | Three minutes from the mill

Family on the white drawbridge before the Morspoort, an old city gate and photo spot in Leiden, its striped arch and dome in the autumn sun

The Morspoort is one of the old city gates of Leiden, with a striped arch and an eight-sided dome. In front of it, a white wooden drawbridge crosses the water. We started on that bridge, with the gate filling the background and the autumn sun on its stone.

8. Molen De Put

November, 13:17–13:28 | Open grass below the mill | Low sun past the sails

Three minutes later, we sat down on the grass below Molen De Put, a wooden post mill on an old bastion beside the Morspoort. The lawn is open, so the low November sun came straight past the mill and lit the fallen leaves. A white blanket gave the baby a place to sit and play. The mill itself is normally open to visitors on Saturdays.

Family photos on the lawn below Molen De Put in Leiden, the parents and their baby sitting in the grass as the low sun shines past the mill
Below Molen De Put at 13:22, the sun just past the mill

9. The Rembrandtbrug

November, 13:31 | A white wooden double drawbridge | Right next to the mill

Right next to the mill, the Rembrandtbrug crosses the Galgewater. It is a wooden double drawbridge, named after Rembrandt, who grew up in the Weddesteeg at its southern end. With the sun low behind it, the beams drew long shadows across the deck, as in the photo that opens this guide.

Parents holding their baby among tall grasses and reeds, Molen De Put across the water behind them and its sails against a pale autumn sky
Parents helping their baby girl stand on a round brick path in a small garden by the water, the long wooden Rembrandtbrug behind them
Molen De Put across the water at 13:35, and the long bridge from a small garden at 13:38

Across the water, tall grasses frame the mill from a distance, and a small garden looks back along the whole bridge. The session ended by a wall of dark ivy and under a broad weeping willow, its yellow branches lit from behind. That afternoon is told in her first autumn in Leiden.

Laughing family of three before a wall of dark green ivy, the father holding up the baby girl while the mother smiles at his side
Father with his daughter on his shoulders beside the mother under a big weeping willow, yellow branches lit by the low sun, family photos in Leiden
Under the willow at 13:54

From experience

In November, the sun stays low all afternoon. At the mill and on the bridge, it came from behind, so it outlined the family and made the leaves glow. By the ivy wall, the light turned soft and even instead. Every season gives these spots a different face.

How a Session at These Photo Spots Works

Each of these photo spots in Leiden belongs to one area, and each area is one session. For a one-hour photoshoot, we stay within one area, because moving between separate areas takes time away from photographing. One area is plenty, though: in August, less than an hour took us from the Burcht past the Pieterskerk and back to the water.

I suggest the area and map out the route, based on the light, the atmosphere and the surroundings. Before the day, I also share outfit suggestions, and one or two outfits work well. During the session, I guide you with simple direction, so you can relax and enjoy the walk. Weekdays are usually quieter than weekends, although these streets are always public.

Expecting couple by a pale arched door with a small star, he in a taupe polo after a change of outfit, plants and an old lamppost beside them
After a change of outfit, at 12:49 in August

Light rain is usually not a problem. If I confirm that the weather makes a session impractical, you can reschedule without extra cost. After a digital session, your gallery is ready to download within seven days. Film photos follow within fifteen days, because the lab first develops and scans the roll.

Found the lane, the canal or the mill that suits you? Discover how I work as a photographer in Leiden.