Breedstraat, also called Broad Street, is described as Leiden’s longest and finest street: a clean, spacious urban thoroughfare whose colorful gabled houses, shaded walks, and public institutions give it both a distinctive appearance and a central place in the boys’ visit to the city.

Setting and Appearance

Unlike many Leiden streets, Breedstraat has no canal running through it. Its houses, painted in a variety of colors and set with their gable ends facing the street, range from tall buildings crowned by stepped roofs to lower houses that seem to crouch beside public buildings and churches. Elegant mansions and broad, tree-shaded promenades contribute to the street’s spacious, quietly scholarly character.

The account emphasizes public care as part of Breedstraat’s appearance. The street is kept scrupulously neat; many gutters are covered by boards that open like trapdoors, and its pumps are topped with shining brass ornaments maintained at public expense. Breedstraat thus appears not merely picturesque but deliberately ordered and cared for.

Civic and Cultural Landmarks

Both Leiden City Hall and the Egyptian Museum of Leiden stand on Breedstraat. The boys choose to go to the museum after arriving in the city, placing the street on their route through Leiden. Its civic importance is set alongside its cultural one: the street brings together public buildings and a destination for the boys’ exploration.

The Red Lion, an unpretentious inn kept by Huygens Kleef, lies near Breedstraat. When Peter van Holp and the other boys reach Leiden hungry after their exertion and a swift journey by canal, they find the inn and call for food. The street is therefore associated with the practical pause that follows their arrival as well as with the city’s museums and public architecture.

Place in Leiden’s Urban Landscape

Breedstraat’s lack of a canal distinguishes it from a city intersected by numerous waterways formed by the Rhine. More than 150 stone bridges connect Leiden’s divided streets, while the river also serves as a moat beside the ramparts and is crossed at the city’s imposing gateways. Against this dense network of water and bridges, Breedstraat offers a broad, orderly street rather than another canal-side passage.

Its shaded walks and well-kept buildings reinforce the impression of scholastic seclusion associated with Leiden. The nearby University of Leiden, seen by the boys along the Rapenburg Canal, belongs to that wider intellectual character of the city, while Breedstraat itself concentrates the civic, cultural, and everyday settings through which the visitors encounter Leiden.