Netherlands 25: One final ride to Leiden

For the final full day of our Duinrell trip of 2025, we headed back to Leiden again. This would be the third time during our stay. We always enjoy visiting the city as well as the ride there, so any excuse to go back.

It wasn’t the best of weather on that final day. But, it was good enough for a ride into Leiden and a wander round. For most of the day it was anyway.

Riding to Leiden

To get to Leiden, we largely followed the route we’d done previously on this holiday. This involved going along Zuylen van Nijeveltstraat in Wassenaar and then onto Deijlerweg. We then continued along Oude Trambaan and Ommedijkseweg, next to the A44 motorway.

From there, we went a different way to our usual route into Leiden. Instead of going past Leiden Centraal to Beestenmarkt, we took the path next to N206 Doctor Lelylaan, then along Haagweg.

Painted lane and cycle traffic lights on Haagweg

The reason for this different route was to make use of the cycle parking Waagstalling. The cycle parking is conveniently located in the basement of the former V&D department store. It is supervised and free to use for up to 14 consecutive days.

This is such a good use of vacant space in old department stores. I’d love to see this come to Manchester. We have plenty of old department store building in the city. I’ve been saying for some time we should convert unused retail space into cycle parking.

As the cycle parking is located in the basement, access to Waagstalling is via ramps. This can be done at either the front or rear of the building. Inside, the space is bright and clean and there’s lots of two tier cycle racks.

At the time we were there, there were plenty of spaces on the racks. Finding a spot wasn’t an issue. Using the cycle parking there was really easy, convenient and secure, and we’d definitely use it again.

Crossing Van Hogendorpstraat on Van Zuylen van Nijeveltstraat — Crossing Van Hogendorpstraat
on Van Zuylen van Nijeveltstraat

Door-zone stepped cycle track on Deijlerweg — Crossing Van Hogendorpstraat
on Van Zuylen van Nijeveltstraat

Wandering around Leiden

After parking our bikes, the first thing we did was head for a drink at the nearby Trattoria Italiana City Hall. As you may have guessed from the name, this is located in Leiden’s Stadhuis (City Hall), or the basement of the city hall to be precise.

The Stadhuis itself is located on both Breestraat at the front and Vismarkt at the back, where it faces onto the Nieuwe Rijn. The basement of the building is at street-level at the rear, which has enabled it to be converted into a restaurant.

The restaurant has tables and chairs spilling out into Stadhuisplein, which is where we sat. This was a lovely space to sit and watch the world go by, on a busy Saturday in Leiden.

Stopping for a drink at Trattoria Italiana City Hall

After our drinks, we headed off to browse the market stalls located along the Nieuwe Rijn. The market features everything from fruit and veg, to flowers and even cycling accessories. The market is on twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday.

I remember reading in Peter Millar’s Marrakech Express, the way to tell the difference between a market for locals and one for tourists is by whether there’s a stall selling men’s underwear.

We didn’t actually see any stalls selling men’s pants. However, Leiden market would definitely be the type of market that would have them.

We really enjoyed wandering along the Nieuwe Rijn. We browsed the stalls and shops overlooking the river. It’s such a pleasant location for a market.

We continued our wandering around the streets off Breestraat. Then we made our way across the Nieuwe Rijn to Burcht van Leiden. This is the fortress on the hill that dates back to the eleventh century.

Walking along the wall at Burcht van Leiden

Despite being one of the top things to see in Leiden, we only actually found out about it in 2024! With this being our final time in Leiden, we decided to head back up again. This gave us chance to enjoy the great views of Leiden one last time.

We came down and continued our wander in the area surrounding Hooglandse Kerk. This Gothic church dates back to the fourteenth century. While doing this, we stumbled across the planters and seats installed on Nieuwstraat.

The planters are filled with various plants and trees. They feature large building-shaped wooden frames and integrated seats. These planters brighten up the street with some green space, in what used to be parking spaces.

We were now on the hunt for somewhere to eat. We ended up wandering back to the base of Burcht van Leiden and stopping at Brasserie Rumour. This was a really pleasant spot for our final evening of the holiday.

After eating, it was time to head back to Duinrell. We left Brasserie Rumour and crossed the Nieuwe Rijn and headed towards Waagstalling cycle parking.

Choorlammersteeg — Market stalls on Vismarkt

Riding back to Duinrell

Arriving back at Waagstalling cycle parking, where we started. We unlocked our bikes and made our way up the ramp and set off back to Duinrell. We largely followed the route we arrived on, though had rain to contend with on the way.

Haagweg, approaching Heesterboom Sawmill

We were soon back at Duinrell. It was now time to pack everything up in preparation for heading back to the UK the next day. After doing so many trips to Duinrell for a week, it was nice staying for two weeks.

Two weeks gave us chance to really settle in and explore. This included multiple trips to Leiden and Den Haag, as well as returning to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. While we hadn’t been as lucky with the weather this year, we didn’t let that stop us doing anything.

So will we be returning in 2026? To be honest, probably not. I really fancy going somewhere we’ve not been. Maybe Copenhagen or similar, so I get my cycling fix too! 😉