Leiden: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Leiden is a city of 119,713 people in The Netherlands (South Holland), 6 m (20 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), 23 km (14 mi) from the centre. It has 4 railway stations on record, including Leiden Centraal railway station.
Key facts
Daylight in Leiden runs from about 7 h 47 min a day in late December to 16 h 50 min in late June (computed for 52.16° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Leiden is served by 3 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), 23 km (14 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 7,218 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS, 25 km), Eindhoven Airport (EIN, 99 km).
Flights to Leiden: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Leiden Centraal railway station, De Vink railway station, Leiden Lammenschans railway station, Station Leiden Heerensingel. Trains to Leiden
Buses to Leiden · Driving and car hire
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Naturalis Biodiversity Center | 271,000 | — |
| Wereldmuseum Leiden | 76,315 | — |
| Rijksmuseum Boerhaave | 47,500 | — |
The busiest is Naturalis Biodiversity Center at 271,000 visitors. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Leiden
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- London, 325 km (United Kingdom) — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Paris, 398 km (France) — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Köln, 218 km (Germany) — flights · tours
- Brussels, 146 km (Belgium) — trains · tours
- Rotterdam, 26 km — car rental · tours
- Amsterdam, 36 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Frankfurt am Main, 370 km (Germany)
- Düsseldorf, 189 km (Germany) — trains · tours
- Essen, 190 km (Germany) — tours
- Dortmund, 216 km (Germany)
Twin towns and sister cities: Krefeld, Oxford, Toruń.
Common questions
Which airport serves Leiden?
Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), 23 km (14 mi) from the centre, plus 2 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Leiden?
About 119,713 people live in Leiden, across 23 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Leiden in?
Europe/Amsterdam, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Leiden?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Leiden?
London (325 km), Paris (398 km), Köln (218 km), Brussels (146 km), Rotterdam (26 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.