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Which city/town to base in?

Posted by (Stuttgart, Germany) on

Hello everyone,

I'll be taking my 84 year old grandmother and our 69 year old cousin to the Netherlands from 4/30 to 5/3. My grandmother has been to Amsterdaam, but most recently in 2000. My cousin has never been to Europe. I've been to Amsterdam about 5 times now, been to Utrecht once, and we did the Keukenhoff on one of those trips a few years ago.

Tulips are a big focus of this trip, I figure we'll do the Keukenhof. Lodging in Amsterdam is pretty expensive over this period (coming as we are right after King's Day and during the May 1st holiday) and Amsterdam can be a little intense, so I was considering basing in another place and doing a day trip to Amsterdam instead. Already I can see that lodging in Haarlem is a lot cheaper.

So what's your favorite smaller city in Amsterdam? I have a friend living in Dem Haag but that side of the country doesn't seem as well suited for visiting Amsterdam and the Keukenhof. I was considering Haarlem or Leiden, which one would you recommend? Or is there another place altogether that you think would really fit the bill?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
2487 posts

Leiden would be a good choice. Lively historical city. Only 20 mins from Schiphol airport and 35 mins from Amsterdam Centraal, with four direct trains per hour. (Den Haag is less than 15 mins away, with the same frequency.) Starting point of the Keukenhof Express bus. Some perfectly acceptable hotels at a few minutes' walk from the station, and less than 10 mins from the very city centre.

Posted by
28 posts

Have to agree with Tom - when we visited Amsterdam in 2015 we stayed in Leiden - it made seeing Keukenhof very easy as we bought tickets at the airport, rode the bus directly there, stowed our luggage in their lockers, and then took the bus directly to Leiden. The city of Leiden is very atmospheric (canals, windmills, architecture) and laid back. We stayed near the station and walked everywhere comfortably and had easy access to the trains.

Posted by
14 posts

Leiden is a university town and full of happy young people. There is an IBIS right outside Leiden Centraal. I can't wait to return. The 854 bus goes directly to the gardens. Combo tickets (bus & garden entry) are available inside the station.

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