Practical information for your visit to Leiden

Parking

• The centre is largely car-free; street parking is expensive and scarce.
• Use the Lammermarkt (the deepest in the Netherlands), Haarlemmerstraat or Morspoort garages — all walkable to the centre.
• Cheaper: P+R Haagweg, with a free shuttle bus into town.
• Large parts of the centre close during 3 October and the Lakenfeesten.

By public transport

• Leiden Centraal: 15 min from Schiphol, 20 from The Hague, 35 from Amsterdam, 35 from Rotterdam.
• From the station it is a 5 to 10 minute walk into the historic centre.
• Buses to Katwijk, Noordwijk and Keukenhof leave from the rear of the station.
• Pay with an OV-chipkaart or contactless with a bank card or phone.

Bike rental

Leiden is small and flat: by bike you reach anything within ten minutes and the North Sea beach at Katwijk in twenty. Rent an OV-fiets or a city bike at the station, and always park in a rack — badly parked bikes are removed in the centre.

Opening hours and markets

• Shops: Mon 12–18, Tue–Sat 9/10–18, late shopping Thursday until 21:00, Sunday 12–17.
• Museums: mostly Tue–Sun 10–17; many close on Mondays.
• Market on the Nieuwe Rijn and Botermarkt: Wednesday and Saturday, one of the largest in the country.
• Restaurant kitchens often close around 21:30; book ahead at weekends.

Good to know

• Payment: cards and contactless almost everywhere; some places take no cash.
• A Museumkaart or Leiden museum discount pays off from about three museums.
• Accessibility: quays are cobbled and monuments have steep stairs, but Naturalis and the RMO are wheelchair accessible.
• Luggage lockers are available at Leiden Centraal.
• Emergency number 112; the GP post and duty pharmacy are reachable 24 hours.