menachem

Yep. Leiden - Schiphol is 10 minutes. Lots of trains.

PalenQ

Even a taxi or airport shuttle Leiden hotel to Schiphol would not break the bank!

menachem

Also great for kids is Archeon in Alphen a/d Rijn, 20 minutes by train from Leiden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8VqtEZOYM

menachem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpglLEfivlA

Archeon is an archeological park, with re-enactors. A friend of mine used to work there as "bronze age village dweller"

PalenQ

Sounds kind of kitschy but fun for kids. Always neat to include things for kids.

Sue81

also in London, be sure to got to the Tower of LOndon and the room with the Crown Jewels, with the crowns from all over the world worn by the British Royalty. In a dark room with bright lights on the crowns, and revolving walkway. Go early to avoid crowds. In Haarlem if you go there, the Frans Hal museum is very nice, with some lovely paintings, was a home for the poor too as well as convent house I think. Sue

menachem

PalenQ not kitschy at all. The University of Leiden archaeology department is heavily involved, and all re-creations are based on famous Dutch archaeology sites. The area around Leiden is rich in finds, because it used to be on the Limes, when the Rhine river flowed more northerly and entered the North Sea at Katwijk. Alphen itself was the site of an extensive Roman castellum, but they can be found all along the "Old" Rhine. And areas like the sand flats that are now the tulip fields were settled since the early bronze age. More to the East of the Netherlands, huge megalithic graves are the witnesses to an area that in the late neolithic period, but certainly in the bronze age, were on a crossroads of European trade routes. Some of the finds from that area (for instance the Bargeres Temple) have also been recreated.

But in an accessible way for children who can involve themselves in a host of activities.