Amsterdam Day Trips in November
 

DH and I are going to Amsterdam the second week of November. We have 2 days to do side trips. We love art and history. Given that it will be November, I am ruling out the Open Air Museums, bulb fields, and anything else that would involve being mostly outside. So I am trying to decide between locations:
1. Delft--very pretty and the porcelain factory would be interesting
2. The Hague--Art Museum
3. Leiden--history and pretty town
4.Haarlem--nice town, ok art museum

And, I am wondering if it would make sense to leave Amsterdam on Wednesday night, stay somewhere like Leiden, Delft, or the Hague, and see those places Thursday/Friday. The only problem is we have to be back at the Amsterdam airport hotel Friday night. Staying in another town for those 2 days would decrease hotel costs and give us some different scenery. But it could be an inconvenience too.

Any ideas/insights are much appreciated!!!!

Delft is a dormitory suburb of The Hague, so you could stay in one and commute to both. Logistically this makes sense. But everywhere is so close to everywhere else in the Netherlands, Leiden is also only a short trip away. It will be no hardship to pack up and get back to the airport afterwards.

Lavandula

I've not been there in November but have twice visited the Kroller Mueller Art Museum which is in a national park. Yes to the Hague for the Art Museum as well as the Peace Palace at the Interational Court of Justice.

Rainy wether very likely..
Hague .

ok, based on this lovely preliminary feedback. I am now thinking of going from Amsterdam to Delft on Wednesday evening. Then going to The Hague for a full day on Thursday. On Friday, we could see what we wanted of Delft in the morning and then go to Leiden, store our luggage at the train station (need to check on that), and then get to Amsterdam airport. Thoughts on this idea??

I am thinking I would rather stay in Delft because it is a small town and will be so different from Amsterdam. The Hague seems not as pretty as Delft???????

The Hague is not as pretty as the centre of Delft no, but perhaps that is the contrast you need, not Amsterdam in miniature.
There are baggage lockers at Leiden station.
There are direct trains to Schiphol from all three places.
Visit Panorama Mesdag if you go to the Hague.

Hello. I love the The Hague love, a city that captured my heart.
November is (very) short days, and usually bad weather: rain cold, gray.

One day could be: take train to The Hague from Amsterdam, Mauritshuis is always a win, Kunstmuseum is a bit out of the way and requires the #17 tram to the genteel part of town. However, if you do Kunstmuseum, you are very near the beach, so you could do lunch there (Simonis is a sure bet for herring) Afternoon: you can take a tram all the way from Schveningen (beach) to the center of Delft. You get to see lots of The Hague, also the southern part, and you ride along the Vliet (the old Roman canal from Leiden to Naarldwijk) to Delft. By then it will be mid afternoon but Delft is very picturesque at dusk, when the lights are on, and you can see right into people' s living rooms as you stroll along Oude Delft. It is perfectly fine to peek inside discretely! Delft has many excellent restaurants with fantastic ambiance, so you could have apero and/or dinner and then walk back to the station and take Intercity back to Amsterdam. Amsterdam - The Hague: 45 minutes from Ams Centraal. The Hague -Delft by #9 tram: 45 minutes, bus as sightseeing. Delft - Ams Centraal: around 60 minutes.

My personal recommendation for Delft: Museum Paul Tetar van Velzen. It is his residence and his studio and it has been perfectly preserved as a prime example of a traditionalist artist' s residence

Day two: Take the train to Leiden from Amsterdam centraal (30 minutes) Leiden has the oldest univerity in the country, founded by William of Orange himself as a place to train the cadre of protestant ministers and jurists for the new republic). The Pilgrim Father's museum has closed, but you can still see the Pieterskerk. Leiden has many university buildings around Rapenburg, a beautiful canal. Off Breestraat there is a series of alleys leading to the Gravensteen, an old citadel and back to Rapenburg. There, the Hortus Botanicus has a nice cafe inside its greenhouse. Like Delft, Leiden has good places for lunch, along the Old Rhine mostly, Walk back to the station and you can take any train to Haarlem 15 minutes). Haarlem has a beautiful town square around its St Bavo church and it's good meandering around streets with mainly independent stores. We went to the Frans Hals museum and found it interesting, but the star is Teylers Museum, the oldest museum in the Netherlands. To me the most interesting part are the houses that are part of the Teylers Stichting. Another interesting place to visit in Haarlem is Huis Barnaart. Pro tip: you need to ring the bell to get in!!! https://www.hendrickdekeyser.nl/muse...rnaart-Haarlem

Then you have the choice to have dinner in Haarlem or in Amsterdam. I would choose Haarlem because the service will be better. Haarlem is (still) far less touristy than Amsterdam. Back to Amsterdam by train from Haarlem: 15 minutes. I don' t think you need to stay overnight, but you might change your airport hotel to one in Leiden if that' s possible: Leiden - Schiphol by train is 10 minutes. There' s a large Fletcher opposite Leiden Centraal. I don' t know when your flight is though and I'm speculating of course.

You could also do it the other way around, base yourself in Leiden and do Amsterdam as a day trip. That way you have easy access to The Hague (15 minutes); Delft (20 minutes) and Haarlem (15 minutes)

I'm not a fan of Amsterdam although I lived there for 10 years. Outside Amsterdam is almost always a better experience, in terms of friendliness, local culture, prices, lack of crowds. Best wishes on your heroic journey in November. Our last November was a grey and wet experience. If you are there around mid november, do take the opportunity to go to at least one "Sinterklaas Aankomst" , the traditional arrival of St Nick by ship. Every city of a good size will have one, and maybe you' re in luck. Something quitessentially Dutch.

I beg to differ haha

But yes, Panorama Mesdag, and if you' re there on the Weekend, his artist' s house on Laan van Meerdervoort. Exquisite!

Don't get me wrong I love Den Haag too, more than Delft, but it is perhaps not what some would think of when they think of a Dutch city.
Love your suggestions, and hopefully next November is nicer than the last.
The official arrival of Sinterklaas is on 15 November this year, but he arrives in some places a week later. He doesn't always arrive by boat - he can also arrive by helicopter, or just ride into town on his white horse, since not everywhere has a convenient bit of water for him. Always worth seeing though.