Rijnsburg(Netherlands) Travel 2026: Cheap Flights, Hotels & Top Attractions

For first-time visitors, staying in the Old Town (Oude Stad) of Leiden is ideal. This historic district offers easy access to major attractions like the Leiden University, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, and the Valkhof Park. The area is walkable, with charming cobbled streets and traditional Dutch gabled houses.

Recommended accommodations include Hotel de Hoge Heuvel, a boutique hotel blending 17th-century architecture with modern comfort, located just steps from the Town Hall Square and St. Pieter Church. For a more intimate experience, consider B&B De Kruisweg, housed in a restored 17th-century farmstead with authentic wooden beams and antique furnishings.

Many hotels offer breakfast featuring local specialties like stroopwafels and fresh dairy products, enhancing the authentic Dutch stay. The central location ensures convenient access to public transport and cycling paths, making it easy to explore the wider South Holland region.

For an authentic Dutch cultural experience, choose hotels in Leiden’s Old Town (Oude Stad) such as B&B De Kruisweg, housed in a 17th-century farmhouse with original timber framing and antique décor. Many guests participate in guided heritage walks organized by the hotel, exploring hidden courtyards, old printing presses, and former university lecture halls.

Hotel de Hoge Heuvel also offers cultural immersion through themed breakfasts featuring regional delicacies like stroopwafels, bitterballen, and fresh Amsterdamse boter butter. The hotel hosts monthly “Evening at the Archives,” where guests can view digitized historical documents from Leiden University’s collection.

Nearby, the Leiden City Archives and Rijksmuseum van Oudheden provide context-rich exhibitions on Dutch Golden Age science and daily life, enriching the stay with deeper insight into the city’s intellectual legacy.

Yes, Hotel de Hoge Heuvel in Leiden features a dedicated indoor play corner and family rooms equipped with baby beds and safety rails. Its adjacent Leiden Riverfront Park includes playgrounds, sand pits, picnic zones, and shaded seating—perfect for parents seeking relaxation while children play.

Another top choice is Familiehotel De Vliet, a renovated farmstay offering petting zoos with lambs and rabbits, plus hands-on nature workshops like plant identification and outdoor sketching. The hotel hosts monthly Family Science Days, collaborating with Leiden University to run child-friendly experiments in physics and biology.

All family-friendly hotels provide free bicycle rentals with child helmets and detailed route maps for safe exploration of nearby countryside trails. These amenities ensure a fun, educational, and stress-free stay for families.

Hotels in Leiden actively integrate local cuisine into guest experiences. Hotel de Hoge Heuvel serves a traditional Dutch breakfast featuring freshly baked bread, house-made jam, and Amsterdamse boter butter, alongside seasonal fruits. Some rooms include mini-fridges stocked with locally produced Leiden white wine and orange-flavored beer.

B&B De Kruisweg partners with nearby farms for its "From Field to Table" program: guests can join harvest tours for strawberries or parsley, then enjoy a chef-prepared dinner using their own produce. The restaurant emphasizes hyper-local sourcing—using duck from South Holland farms and rye bread made on-site.

Many hotels also host gastro walking tours at night, guiding guests through weekly markets to sample iconic treats like friet met mosterd (fries with mustard) and kroketten, while learning about the evolution of Dutch culinary traditions.

One standout experience is staying at Leiden Atelier Hostel, a converted 17th-century student residence of Leiden University, now transformed into an art-infused retreat. Each room is uniquely designed by local artists, featuring handcrafted murals, sculptures, and interactive installations.

Guests can join late-night artist talks, participate in morning meditation and sketching sessions along the Leiden Canal, or attend the monthly Echoes of History Night, which uses ambient soundscapes to recreate 17th-century academic life.

Another highlight is the Starlight Rooftop Stay, available only in summer. Guests enjoy a private terrace overlooking the canal with minimal light pollution, complete with astronomy guides from the Leiden Observatory and telescope access for stargazing under the Dutch sky.

Yes, several hotels in Leiden embrace sustainability. Hotel de Hoge Heuvel holds the Dutch Green Tourism Certification, utilizing solar panels, offering refillable toiletries and bamboo toothbrushes, and maintaining a rainwater harvesting system for garden irrigation.

B&B De Kruisweg operates a zero-waste initiative: all food scraps are composted and returned to local farms. Guests are invited to join community gardening projects, and single-use plastics are replaced with glass water bottles and reusable dispensers.

Some hotels provide carbon footprint tracking cards, logging energy use and travel choices. Upon check-out, guests receive eco-rewards redeemable for future stays. These practices reflect Leiden’s strong commitment to sustainable tourism.