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Leiden
City and municipality in South Holland, Netherlands

Leiden

Leiden is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands.

Plan a trip to Leiden→From Eindhoven

The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration with its suburbs Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude with 215,602 inhabitants. The Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) further includes Katwijk in the agglomeration which makes the total population of the Leiden urban agglomeration 282,207. Further, Teylingen, Noordwijk, and Noordwijkerhout are included in the larger Leiden urban area, which has 365,913 inhabitants. Leiden is located on the Oude Rijn, at a distance of some 20 km (12 mi) from The Hague to its south and some 40 km (25 mi) from Amsterdam to its north. The recreational area of the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) lies just to the northeast of Leiden.

Get in

Getting to Leiden

Leiden is easily reached by train. The journey takes 10–15 minutes from The Hague, and 15 minutes from Schiphol Airport, the principal airport in the Netherlands. The journey from Amsterdam takes between 30 and 40 minutes. Trains run by NS (including all that arrive in Leiden) are now all accessible using your bank card.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Stadhuis

    The old renaissance façade facing Breestraat is dating from 1597.

  2. 02
    Burcht van Leiden

    An old shell keep dated back to 11th century.

  3. 03
    Academiegebouw

    The old university building still used for ceremonies and a few studies.

  4. 04
    Pieterskerk

    Peter (the patron saint of the city) is a 16th-century church, in late-Gothic style.

  5. 05
    Hooglandse Kerk

    Dedicated to St Pancras and located at the site of an earlier wooden chapel dating from 1314.

  6. 06
    Gemeenlandshuis van Rijnland

    Open to the public each year on Monument Day.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Muurgedichten
  2. 02
    Lido Theater

    The 1970s interior is in serious need of an upgrade.

  3. 03
    Trianon

    Grand old dame and with a brilliantly restored art deco/art nouveau main theatre.

  4. 04
    Kijkhuis

    Small charming cinema with classics and arthouse movies.

  5. 05
    Stadsgehoorzaal Leiden

    The building in rare for the Netherlands Neo-Renaissance style is dating back to 1891.

  6. 06
    Scheltema
Eat

Where to eat

Leiden has a lot of restaurants and bars. Especially in the Pieterswijk (the east side of the Breestraat) are a lot of cosy restaurants.

  1. 01
    Entrekoos

    Part French-style dishes, part steakhouse.

  2. 02
    Eazie

    Breestraat 157/Stationsweg 11.

  3. 03
    Delphi

    Nieuwe Rijn 52.

  4. 04
    La Piccola Italia

    A small restaurant that makes good pizzas and pasta dishes.

  5. 05
    Bocconi

    Italian trattoria focusing on fresh pasta, but they have other Italian treats as well.

How locals move

Getting around Leiden the local way

  • Get aroundby HTM Bike, Donkey Republic (The Hague) and OV-fiets (requires a personalised OV-chipkaart).

From Wikivoyage: The Hague, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.