Leiden, The Netherlands

LEIDEN, just 30km to the south of Amsterdam – and forty minutes by train – is a lively and energetic city of around 120,000 souls, which makes for an enjoyable day trip or overnight stay. At its heart, the city's antique, sometimes careworn centre is a maze of narrow lanes that wriggle and worm their way around a complicated network of canals, one of which marks the line of the medieval walls. It's all very appealing – and appealingly unfussy – with Leiden's multitude of bars and cafés kept afloat by the thirsty students of the city's one great institution, its university, one of Europe's most prestigious seats of learning. Leiden is also within easy striking distance of the Dutch bulbfields and the showpiece Keukenhof gardens as well as the amenable North Sea resort of Katwijk-aan-Zee and its long sandy beach