In Voorschoten, village history and historic buildings meet routes for walks and hikes. When planning your stay, you can choose between focusing on culture and architecture or exploring various routes through green spaces. Some options are easy to distinguish by their length: the Bomenroute can be divided into two sections, while a hiking route past country estates is ten kilometres long.
Castle, village history and events
You can visit Kasteel Duivenvoorde independently with a mobile audio tour or on a guided tour. The castle has a landscaped park. As ticket and tour arrangements may change, check the current options before your visit.
Museum Voorschoten preserves, collects and makes accessible the village’s older and more recent history. Complementing this are bookable guided tours of the old town: they take you along Voorstraat and Treubstraat, through part of Schoolstraat and along the first section of Molenlaan. Advance booking requirements may change, so check them before planning your tour.
The Dorpskerk is also an events venue: alongside church services, it hosts concerts, theatre, cabaret and literary events. The programme varies. The former Zilverfabriek van Van Kempen en Begeer offers a different perspective on the town’s history. The building was constructed in 1858 in the eclectic neoclassical style and operated as a silver factory until 1984.
Architecture and older history
The Kanaal van Corbulo connects the town’s history with the Roman era. Around 50 AD, the Romans built this waterway, approximately 30 kilometres long, by connecting natural waterways between the Rhine and the Meuse. The archaeological remains are a Dutch national monument. The canal is part of the Lower Germanic Limes, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2021.
Other historic buildings vary in age and style. The main building of the Ter Wadding estate has been a Dutch national monument since 23 August 2010. The Catholic church complex Sint Laurentius was built between 1866 and 1868 in the Gothic Revival style, based on designs by architect Th. Asseler. Its furnishings include a richly carved Gothic Revival high altar, made by the Belgian firm Peeters & Divoort around 1867.
Walking routes, trees and parks
The Bomenroute passes 50 notable trees, which can be seen from or along public roads. It is 7.5 kilometres long in total and can be divided into a 4-kilometre northern section and a 3.5-kilometre southern section. The route is designed for walking, but can also be cycled. You must walk your bicycle along the Ambachtspad, Zuster Anna Lambooplantsoen, Adegeestpark and De Loozepad sections.
Burgemeester Berkhoutpark is also a good place for a walk. Laid out in the landscape style between 1936 and 1944, the park is encircled by a circular path, with a few branches and vistas adding to the route. This offers a different way to enjoy the outdoors from the longer hiking route past the country estates: it is ten kilometres long, passes five country estates and Burgemeester Berkhoutpark, and can start at either Voorschoten NS railway station or De Vink NS railway station.
The protected Duivenvoordse en Veenzijdse Polder also lies in the region around Voorschoten and is suitable for walking. Its landscape features include medieval coppice woods and drainage waterways such as Veenwetering and Dobbewetering. A walking programme exploring Prince Frederik’s country estates offers further routes: one passes through Voorschoten village centre to De Paauw, while two others run through De Horsten. This gives you a choice of varied walking options both in the town and in the surrounding region.
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