Leiden with teenagers: the best activities in a row!

What to do in Leiden with teenagers? Leiden is a pleasant city for families with adolescents. There is enough to do for this target group to enjoy yourself for at least a weekend in this city in South Holland! We wrote a blog earlier about what to do in Leiden with kids, but we have chosen from the various activities that are especially suitable for families with teenagers! Below is our list of top activities for a weekend in Leiden with teenagers.

Table of contents

Leading with teenagers

#1 Virtorium

A fun activity you can do with teenagers in Leiden is a VR game. At Virtorium they offer a VR experience for all ages so also for teens. Virtorium is located right in the center so you can go here on foot. You can play all kinds of games here with a group of 2 to 6 people.

We ourselves as a family have played VR games several times now, and we think it’s a really cool activity. It’s fun to see each other in a virtual world and that you have to solve all kinds of tasks together. It makes it so much fun that you have to work together as a family and it’s really crazy when you suddenly play a game in ancient Egypt with each other, for example.

Most games last an hour. Beforehand, you get instructions and they let you get used to the controllers and VR glasses. That always takes some getting used to. Keep in mind that many of the games actually do involve a lot of movement, so it’s definitely not like a computer game where you sit behind a screen. Check beforehand which game appeals to you the most. For the range of VR games on offer, check out Virtorium’s website.

#2 The climbing island

You can also go climbing in Leiden with adolescents. At Het Klimeiland in Leiden you have 7 different routes you can climb at 4 different heights. In total there are 50 different obstacles on the different routes. There are also 10 different ziplines, one of which is even 100 meters long.

We always find climbing to be a top activity with our daughter. It is also an activity you can do with your teenager. Climbing is also fun for adults. At a height of 1.40 meters, teens are allowed to climb all the courses in the climbing park. The highest course is at 11 meters. This activity takes a total of 2.5 hours and that includes brief instruction from a staff member.

You can also rent a canoe, pedalo or boat at WSC Vlietland during the summer months and get out on the water. So those two activities can be combined nicely. For all the activities you can do here, take a look at WSC Vlietland’s website.

#3 National Museum of Antiquities

Leiden is really known for its many museums, and some of these museums are definitely suitable for teenagers as well. For example, the National Museum of Antiquities is all about ancient Egypt. Especially if teenagers have already been taught this at school in the history subject, this can be an interesting museum. We thought it was cool that you have mummies in the museum here, for example.

Another museum you can visit in Leiden with teenagers is Naturalis Biodiversity Center. This is a natural history museum and you will find lots of stuffed animals here. We ourselves always think it is cool to be able to see many of these kinds of animals up close. They also have several skeletons of dinosaurs in the museum. Of course, this is a museum that your teens have to love.

Another museum you can visit in Leiden with adolescents is Corpus. This museum is all about the human body and you literally go through a person’s body here as well. We found this quite an interesting museum and certainly nicely made that way.

Other museums we visited in Leiden with our daughter were the Museum Volkenkunde and Rijksmuseum Boerhaave. We also found the latter museum very interesting which focuses on science. In short, you have a lot to choose from in terms of museums to go to in Leiden with teenagers.

#4 Escaperoom 071

You can also play an escaperoom in Leiden with teenagers. You have several providers in Leiden that offer different escaperooms. The largest provider of escaperooms in Leiden is Escaperoom 071 which has no less than 3 different escaperooms. In addition, you can play several other VR Escape Games here with the family.

These escaperooms are suitable for kids as young as 11, so for that matter, suitable for teenagers. The different escaperooms differ in terms of escape rate. With teenagers, it is recommended to take an escaperoom where there is a high chance of escaping, as it is more fun if you do eventually get out of the room.

We have played several escaperooms in the Netherlands with our daughter and it is actually always a success. It’s fun that you have to work together to solve the tasks and our daughter always finds it exciting, as unexpected things always happen. Another provider of escaperooms in Leiden is Your Escape, only there the escaperooms are all for ages 16 and up.

#5 Boulder Hall Plastic

If you are looking for an active activity you can do with teenagers in Leiden, then bouldering is a good option. Bouldering is a sport that is really on the rise and in most cities in the Netherlands you have a climbing hall. Also in Leiden you can boulder at Boulderhal Kunststof. You pay a fixed amount to come here for a day of climbing. You can then come and climb all day.

In the hall you have all kinds of colored holds sitting against the wall and each color is a separate route. There is a difference in how difficult the different courses are that you can climb against the walls. This allows everyone to climb at their own level. There are thick mats under the walls, so you won’t hurt yourself too much if you accidentally fall off the wall.

Teens pay a reduced fee compared to adults. You can possibly rent climbing shoes and a puff bag from the bouldering hall, but it is not necessarily necessary. For more information on bouldering, check out the website of Boulderhal Kunststof.

Other activities Leiden with adolescents

In addition to the activities you can do with teenagers in Leiden described above, there are a number of other activities you can do here. The center of Leiden is definitely fun to visit. We loved the center and it is fun to take an organized boat tour of the canals.

You can also take a Rembrandt walk in the city center of about 3 kilometers which takes you past important sites of the world-famous painter Rembrandt van Rhijn. We walked this walk on a sunny day and found it a very nice walk through the city, where you also get to see a lot of the city.

If you are visiting Leiden with teenagers it is also definitely fun to take a day trip to The Hague. From the center of Leiden you can be in the center of The Hague in 14 minutes by train. In The Hague, of course, there is also plenty to do with teenagers. We wrote about this city the blog The Hague with teenagers, where we have listed all the activities.

If your teenagers are fans of amusement parks, you can visit Duinrell amusement park from Leiden. This amusement park is a 15-minute drive from Leiden, and at Duinrell you have some spectacular attractions for teenagers. In addition, Duinrell also has a very cool water park with many spectacular slides that you can visit. You can have a great time here with the family for an entire day.

Where to stay in Leiden with teenagers?

You can stay in Leiden with teenagers just fine. You have several nice accommodations that you can book as a family with teenagers. However, as a family you must first make a choice whether the kids sleep in your room or whether you book a separate room for them. We have listed several accommodations for both options that are all rated tremendously well.

Accommodations in Leiden, where you can stay with the family in one room.

Mid-range accommodation: Tulip Inn Leiden Centre

Luxury accommodation: Hilton Garden Inn Leiden

Also check out the entire list of accommodations in Leiden.