← Amstelveen Spring Marathon·2 nights

Leiden: Canals, Museums and the Bulb Belt After Amstelveen

A university town of canals, small museums and a botanical garden dating from 1590, with the bulb country on the doorstep and Schiphol a short train ride away.

Duration2 nights
TransitTram and metro to Amsterdam Zuid or Schiphol, then NS train to Leiden Centraal, about 50 to 70 minutes in total
DepartsAmstelveen Stadshart

After the Amstelveen Spring Marathon: Leiden

The Route: Amstelveen Stadshart → Amsterdam Zuid or Schiphol → Leiden → Schiphol Airport Logistics: GVB tram or metro to Amsterdam Zuid, then an NS Intercity or Sprinter to Leiden Centraal. The old town starts at the station and is about 1.5 km across. Marathon Month: March Duration: 2 nights

Amstelveen ──(20-30 mins, tram/metro)──> Amsterdam Zuid ──(about 30 mins, NS train)──> Leiden
                                                                                          │
                      Schiphol Airport (AMS) <──(15-20 mins, direct NS train)────────────┘

The Amstelveen Spring Marathon runs on a Sunday in March and ends in the Stadshart. Leiden is a good second base because it sits on the Schiphol line, so the last morning needs no planning.

March in Leiden: the average high is about 9°C and rain showers are routine. Keukenhof, the garden near Lisse, opens in the second half of March in most years, but the tulips are normally several weeks behind its opening date. Daffodils and crocuses are the likelier colour, and the bulb fields themselves generally turn in April. Check keukenhof.nl for the opening date and the current flower report, and decide on the day.

From Amstelveen ride the tram or metro to Amsterdam Zuid, then an NS train to Leiden Centraal. The rail leg takes about 30 minutes. Dutch rail has no advance fares, so there is nothing to book early; a single is a few euros, paid with a contactless bank card or OVpay at the gates. Many Dutch museums close on Mondays, so Leiden's street-level attractions come first on the day after the race.

Nights One and Two: Leiden

Leiden's centre is flat, paved and criss-crossed by canals, with a bench or café seat every few hundred metres. The Rapenburg, the long canal lined with university buildings, is the best single walk: about 800 metres of level brick road beside the water. The Hortus Botanicus, founded in 1590, is on the Rapenburg and costs around €15. It is flat, with gravel paths, and the glass houses are warm, which matters in March. Carolus Clusius planted some of the first tulips in the Netherlands here in the 1590s.

The Burcht, a Norman ring fortress on an artificial mound, is free to enter, though the path up has a short flight of steps, and the view is mostly of roofs. Skip it on the first day and decide on the second whether your quads agree.

The museums are close together. The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, with its Egyptian collection and the Temple of Taffeh, costs around €18 and has lifts. Naturalis, the natural history museum, is a ten-minute walk from the station and shows Trix, one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons found. Both are level and well supplied with seating. Museum De Lakenhal, in a former cloth hall, is smaller and quieter. Check which are open on Monday before you go.

A canal boat tour of about an hour costs around €15 and takes in the bridges and the Rapenburg from water level, which is the least strenuous way to see the town.

On the second day, Keukenhof is reachable by bus from Leiden Centraal and from Schiphol. The garden is about 32 hectares of flat, mostly paved paths, so it can suit a slow loop, but queues for entry and the bus can be long on dry weekends. Entry is around €25; book a timed ticket if the date is a weekend.

For a room, Hotel De Doelen sits on the Rapenburg and is the closest hotel to the university and garden. Hotel Nieuw Minerva on Boommarkt is a refurbished building on the canal, with a walk of a few minutes to the station. Check lift access when booking, as both occupy older buildings.

For food, De Waag in the old weighing house on Aalmarkt is the standard reliable table, with a Dutch menu and a terrace for dry days. Coffee in the Hoogstraat area is easy to find, and Leiden's bakeries are the cheapest way to refuel after a hard first day.

Getting to Schiphol Airport (AMS)

Leiden Centraal to Schiphol is a direct NS train of about 15 to 20 minutes, running several times an hour through the day. The airport station is under Schiphol Plaza and has lifts to the terminal. It is the easiest airport exit of the four itineraries from Amstelveen, so a late-morning flight leaves time for a final walk along the Rapenburg.