Leiden or The Hague
 

Still working on our spring trip to Europe. We will be arriving in Amsterdam where we plan to view the tulips. We’re debating on either staying in Leiden or The Hague. It seems either place has close proximity to the gardens. If any of you are familiar with the area would love hearing your input.

I would stay in beautiful canal and flower decked Leiden. We spent a week there and loved it. Pilgrim history too! But do take day trip to The Hague. Mauritshaus Museum, Parliament, home of the Royals.

And my vote would be The Hague - everything mentioned above plus the Peace Palace - International Court of Justice, etc.
Fascinating, and so close to the North Sea.

Leiden will be nearer the tulip fields, but The Hague and Leiden are 10 miutes apart by train

For now the plan is to stay in Leiden with a day trip to The Hague. It did seem like there was plenty to see there. Are there any suggestions of things to do in Leiden? We already have plans to do the tulip fields but would love some other ideas.

In Leiden a visit to the Hortus Botanicus should be on your list. It is part of the university where John Quincy Adams studied, Einstein too. The Leiden Pilgrim Museum is small but meaningful. The Pilgrims fled England and stayed in Leiden for about ten years before heading for North America. There a lot of museums, several rivers, the perfect city for walking. Use the frequent trains to visit The Hague along with Delft. Head to Rotterdam and get on a river boat to Kinderdijk with it’s 19 windmills in their original locations.
We also spent a week in Leiden and would happily return.

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is worth a visit.
https://www.rmo.nl/en/

Also have a look at https://www.visitleiden.nl/en for info on exhibits, boat trips etc.

In Den Haag try and find time for Panorama Mesdag.
https://panorama-mesdag.nl/en/

There is much to see and do in Den Haag. Escher Museum, Mauritshuis, Madurodam, Europe's biggest outdoor market (not Tuesdays), Kunstmuseum for Mondriaans, the beach, and so on. Sadly the Binnenhof and Ridderzaal are closed for renovation so you can't visit the oldest government buildings in the world.