How to find us

Map and directions

African Studies Centre
Pieter de la Courtgebouw / Faculty of Social Sciences
Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden

The African Studies Centre is located in the Pieter de la Court building of Leiden University's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

The ASC library is on the ground floor just beyond the reception desk.

The ASC’s secretariat (Room 3.A05), research offices, seminar room and the director’s office are all on the third floor. Take the main elevator to the third floor where you will see the Common Room (the ‘Bamboo Lounge’) facing you. Turn right through the white doors, and right again. The secretariat is on the left-hand side and the seminar room is a little further down the corridor on the right.

By public transport

The most convenient way to reach the ASC is by public transport. The Pieter de la Court building, where the ASC has its offices and library, is a five-minute walk from Leiden Central Station. Take the rear exit from the station (marked ‘LUMC’). Cross the street and turn left. At the sign 'Pieter de la Court gebouw', just before the LUMC hospital, turn right. Follow the signs and walk in the direction of a new building called 'Rijnveste'. Immediately behind this building you will see the stairs leading up to the entrance to the six-storey yellow-brick Pieter de la Court building.

By car

If you intend to come to the ASC by car, the closest car park is next to the Einthoven building on the other side of Albinusdreef from the Pieter de la Court building. The entrance is at Wassenaarseweg 62. You will need a chip card to pay for parking. The tariff is €1 per hour for the first two hours and then €2 per hour. After the fifth hour, the maximum day tariff of €8 is charged.

Route from the A44:

Leave the A44 at Exit 8 (Leiden-Valkenburg-Katwijk-Noordwijk when coming from The Hague or Leiden-Utrecht when coming from Amsterdam). Follow the signs for Leiden Centre/Naturalis via Plesmanlaan.
Take the first left turn off Plesmanlaan onto Einsteinweg. Turn right at the roundabout onto Max Planckweg, continue as far as Wassenaarseweg and then turn right. You can park in the car park at Wassenaarseweg 62 (next to TNO).

Route from the A4:

Leave the A4 at Exit 7 (Zoeterwoude dorp) and continue on the N206 towards Katwijk. At the big T-junction with Plesmanlaan, turn right towards Leiden Centre/Naturalis.

Take the first left turn off Plesmanlaan onto Einsteinweg. Turn right at the roundabout onto Max Planckweg, continue as far as Wassenaarseweg and then turn right. You can park in the car park at Wassenaarseweg 62 (next to TNO).

How to get to the ASC from Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam)

There are at least six trains an hour from Schiphol Airport to Leiden. Trains usually leave from Platform 5 or 6. You need to buy a ticket from one of the NS ticket machines in the main hall before you go down to the platforms. A single second-class ticket to Leiden costs € 5.30. The journey takes about 20 minutes.

Directions from Leiden Central Station to the ASC:
Take the rear exit from the station (marked ‘LUMC’). Cross the street and turn left. At the sign 'Pieter de la Court gebouw', just before the LUMC hospital, turn right. Follow the signs and walk in the direction of a new building called 'Rijnveste'. Immediately behind this building you will see the stairs leading up to the entrance to the six-storey yellow-brick Pieter de la Court building.
 

How to find three of the most popular hotels in Leiden

Nieuw Minerva
Directions from Leiden Central Station to the Hotel Nieuw Minerva:
Leave Leiden Central Station by the main entrance and you will be on Stationsweg, which then becomes Steenstraat. At the end of Steenstraat, turn left over the bridge and then immediately turn right. The second street on the left is Boommarkt. The Hotel Nieuw Minerva is on the right-hand side at no. 23.

Rembrandt
Directions from Leiden Central Station to the Rembrandt Hotel:
Leave Leiden Central Station by the main entrance and you will be on Stationsweg. Immediately after the Grand Café Van der Werff (which is on your left-hand side about 100 metres from the station), turn left into 2e Binnenvestgracht, which ends up on the Nieuwe Beestenmarkt. Turn right and the Rembrandt Hotel is on the right at no. 10.

Ibis Hotel
Directions from Leiden Central Station to the Ibis Hotel:
When you leave Leiden Central Station by the main entrance, there is a big open area outside the station and a bus station on the right. The recently opened Ibis Hotel is at Stationsplein 240 at the end of the road that runs along beside the bus stops. You can see the hotel’s flags from the station.