Stay in The Hague, Rotterdam or Leiden

We really enjoyed Leiden. After spending a week in Amsterdam it felt good to be in a smaller city with a university vibe- good beer, cafes, etc. We took day trips to Rotterdam and Den Haag from there. We had a wonderful time riding bicycles (something we would have NEVER done in the larger cities) to the coast & spending a little time on the beach.
All three are close enough together via train, I don’t think you could go wrong with whichever you pick!

Keep in mind that Rotterdam is only 25 train minutes from The Hague which is only 11 train minutes from Leiden. So staying in one versus the other is a matter of what you’d enjoy most.
That said, Rotterdam is a city of contemporary architecture as it was mostly destroyed in 1940 and very little of its historical architecture remains outside of the Delfshaven district, which has the Old Church or “Oude Kerk”—the very church the pilgrims last held services before setting sail for America in 1620 and landing at Plymouth Rock.
Leiden is the smaller of the two, with most of this medieval university town centering around the University of Leiden which was founded in 1575. Leiden looks like most of it was built 500 years ago. With its canals, cobblestone streets and excellent museums— Leiden is my alternative to Amsterdam before flying out of Schipol. And it’s also well-worth two or three nights in its own right.
, Den Hague is an absolutely wonderful city of with Binnenhof Palace. Noordiende Palace and Paleis Huis ten Bosch—two of the King of Netherlands’ three official palaces—are also in The Hague as are the MC Escher Art museum and the Mauritshuis Art Museum. There are beautiful parks throughout the city, a pedestrianized central shopping district downtown and many other features making Den Hague a really pleasant city to visit or live in. It’s just a six-minute train or 25-minute tram ride to Delft, which is just east of The Hague.
Leiden is the smaller of the two ( pop. 125K) The Hague (pop 500K) is larger and more of a city in the sense one would expect of a European capital.

I have a bias against Leiden. I used to love it, but then I stayed when the University was in session, town overrun with college students. I have no issue college students, but I thought the majority of the bars and restaurants skewed young in a way that catered to them. Though people were nice enough, I felt tolerated more than welcome.

The above is a matter of degree of course, but there are Dutch places I enjoy more.

I don't think I would do Rotterdam for 5 nights. I like Rotterdam - it's an interesting, diverse town. And it holds the auspicious distinction of being the only place I've ever seen people lighting parked cars on fire - exciting! If I'm in the Netherlands though and I'm spending a lot of time somewhere I want it to be more of the classic picture postcard than Rotterdam.

I also like The Hague and have visited several times. One thing about the Hague though is it a bit of a cul-de-sac. The sea is nice, but I've lived near spectacular beaches my whole life so spending a lot of time on a North Sea Beach doesn't really fire my jets. And the city itself is pretty dispersed. Good sites but feels more big city than I like.

Delft might be a good choice. It's just so incredibly pretty and quaint, and has a wonderful square. But it's small. Would make a comfortable base I think.

Gouda also might be a good call in the area where you're looking to stay. Gouda is equidistant from a lot of destinations. It's not as much of a fantasy movie set as Delft, but it is quite a pretty scene. It's bigger than Delft, but still a very manageable place to walk. I also like that Gouda is mostly surrounded by pretty countryside.

My pick though would be Den Bosch. It's a wonderful charming small city with a lot for tourists to do. It has a more vibrant sidewalk
cafe "good life" culture then most Dutch cities. It has a lot of boutiquey amenities, pretty shops, interesting restaurants, cool hotels. Gorgeous countryside all around it and lots of fun easy day trips. Since you're already going to Amsterdam for 5 nights you're going to get a lot of Holland - might be nice to see a different province.

Thank you for the delightful answers!
You gave us a lot to think about and we are researching the smaller cities/towns mentioned.
This made it easier to make our decisions about how to allocate our time and where to stay
About Air BnB …well, not my favorite company so we don’t support it. They’ve screwed too many people, so not an option for us
Regards
Carol

We stayed in an apartment for a week in Leiden( not AirBnB) and loved this beautiful city.

Suki, are you willing to share that apartment information?

I think The Hague is the most pleasant city in the world. And, it's mere minutes from all the other places (and many, many more) so is perfectly situated for day-trips.

If this helps, I spent 3 nights in the Hague. That included a day trip to Delft - to get to Delft I took a local train or electric trolly powered by overhead wires and got off at the 14th stop from where I got on.

I didn't make time for Leiden but I read that in Leiden there was a walking tour of places of importance to certain influential people involved in the United States Revolution/ independence from England.

Hague lovers! That’s great….
Our plans have changed somewhat in that we are going to Ghent for 3/5 nights so we still have to decide on the 2 nights which I think will be either in Leiden or The Hague
Thx so much for commenting! It really helps with decision making :-)

Ghent is a great choice, nice work there 🙂

I am planning to stay in Delft for three or four nights. Besides visiting that city, it will be my base for visiting Antwerp, The Hague, and …..(been to these before) possibly Haarlem, Keukenhof, lastly Amsterdam. Hoping for relaxed beauty and cafes in Delft. Good choice for base?
Thank you!

Delft is it charming town. I love the large size of its church, town hall and central square. Gives some grand aspects while still having narrow streets and village charm. You'll be perfectly happy with your choice. Have fun!