Skip to content
Visit Leiden
The skeleton of T. rex Trix at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden

Leiden with children

Leiden is flat, compact and full of the kind of museums children actually remember. You can fill two days without ever needing a car — and without hearing a single complaint about walking.

The reliable favourites

  • Naturalis: Trix the Tyrannosaurus rex, a mammoth and a live-science lab.
  • CORPUS: a 55-minute walk through a giant human body, just outside the centre.
  • Rent a small electric boat and let older children steer the canals.
  • Wereldmuseum Leiden's family routes and the Japan and Arctic galleries.

Free things that work

  • Climbing the Burcht ring wall and the park beneath it.
  • The Saturday market on the Nieuwe Rijn for stroopwafels and herring.
  • Playgrounds in the Van der Werfpark and the Singelpark.
  • Bridge-spotting walks along the Oude Vest and Herengracht.

Practical family tips

The centre is stroller-friendly apart from the windmill and a few monument stairs. Book Naturalis and CORPUS online, especially in school holidays. Most museums have English-language family routes, and almost every café will warm a bottle without being asked twice.