Quick answer: A-Bike Rental & Tours Leidseplein sits at Kerkstraat 27A, 1017 GB Amsterdam, a two-minute walk from Leidseplein square. It opens 9:00 to 17:00 Monday through Thursday and 9:00 to 18:00 Friday through Sunday. Rentals start around €12.50 for one hour and €16.50 for three hours, covering city bikes, e-bikes and fat e-bikes, with guided tours available alongside self-guided rentals. Book online in summer, because the Leidseplein shop is small and sells out on warm weekends.
The essentials at a glance
| Address | Kerkstraat 27A, 1017 GB Amsterdam |
|---|---|
| Phone | +31 20 210 0165 |
| Opening hours | Mon–Thu 9:00–17:00; Fri–Sun 9:00–18:00 |
| Nearest tram stop | Leidseplein, roughly 200 m north |
| Bikes available | City bikes, e-bikes, fat e-bikes, children’s bikes |
| Starting price | From about €12.50 per hour, €16.50 for three hours |
| Other A-Bike branches | Vondelpark, Amsterdam Centraal, City Center, Rembrandt Square |
Why pick the Leidseplein branch over the others
A-Bike operates several shops across central Amsterdam, and the branch you choose shapes your whole ride. Leidseplein works best if your hotel is in the museum quarter or the canal belt, because you reach the Vondelpark, the Rijksmuseum and the Nine Streets within ten minutes of pedalling without crossing the worst of the city-centre crowds.
Choose a different branch when your logistics point elsewhere. The Centraal Station shop keeps longer hours and suits day-trippers arriving by train. The Vondelpark shop puts you straight onto park paths, which is gentler for nervous riders. The Rembrandt Square location accepts one free 24-hour rental for I amsterdam City Card holders, worth checking if you already own the card.
Which bike to rent for your trip
Most visitors overbuy. Amsterdam is flat and compact, so the expensive option is rarely the better one.
| Bike type | Best for | Not best for |
|---|---|---|
| City bike (coaster or hand brakes) | Canal-belt loops, museum hopping, anything inside the A10 ring | Riders who have not cycled in years and want gentle assistance |
| E-bike | Day trips out to Zaanse Schans, Waterland or Haarlem | Short centre rides, where the extra cost buys nothing |
| Fat e-bike | Beach runs to Zandvoort or IJmuiden, and riders wanting maximum stability | Narrow canal streets and tight bike-parking racks |
| Children’s bike or seat | Families staying near Vondelpark | Busy weekday commuting hours, when traffic is dense |
Ask for hand brakes explicitly if you have never used a Dutch coaster brake. Pedalling backwards to stop is intuitive for locals and alarming for everyone else, and it causes a fair share of tourist wobbles at junctions.
What it costs
A-Bike’s published rates begin near €12.50 for one hour and €16.50 for three hours, with day and multi-day rates lower per hour. Across Amsterdam in 2026, a standard city bike generally runs €12 to €18 for a day, roughly €34 for three days and about €50 for a week, so A-Bike sits inside the normal range rather than at the budget end.
- Booking online usually earns a discount, and it guarantees stock in peak season.
- Expect a deposit, taken as a card hold or an ID, standard practice across Amsterdam rental shops.
- Theft insurance is optional and priced separately. Bike theft in Amsterdam is common enough that the add-on is worth considering for multi-day rentals.
- E-bikes and fat e-bikes cost noticeably more per hour, and they are not necessary for centre-only riding.
Guided tours versus riding solo
A-Bike runs guided tours in addition to plain rentals, and the choice comes down to confidence rather than budget. A guide handles the two things visitors find hardest: reading Amsterdam’s traffic priorities and navigating without stopping in a cycle lane to check a phone.
- Take a guided tour if this is your first ride in a Dutch city, or if you want context on the canal ring and Jordaan you would not get from a map.
- Rent solo if you already cycle regularly, want to set your own pace along the Amstel, or plan a longer countryside route.
- Mix the two by doing a short guided tour on day one, then renting for the rest of the trip once the traffic rhythm feels normal.
How to reach the shop
Kerkstraat 27A runs parallel to and just south of Leidsestraat, one block back from the noise of Leidseplein itself. Search “A-Bike Rental & Tours Leidseplein” rather than “A-Bike” in maps apps, because the other branches will otherwise send you across the city.
- Tram: Several GVB tram lines call at Leidseplein, including lines 1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12 and 19 depending on current routing. From the stop, walk east along Leidsestraat and turn right into Kerkstraat.
- Walking: About 15 minutes from Dam Square, 10 minutes from the Rijksmuseum, 25 to 30 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal.
- Train: From Centraal, take a Leidseplein-bound tram, or use A-Bike’s Oosterdoksstraat branch instead and ride south.
- Car: Not recommended. If you must drive, Q-Park Byzantium on Tesselschadestraat is the closest garage, and central Amsterdam parking is expensive enough that a tram ticket almost always wins.
Best time of year to ride
| Season | Conditions | What to plan around |
|---|---|---|
| April–May | Mild, long light, tulip season inland | King’s Day on 27 April closes streets and packs the centre |
| June–August | Warmest and driest, busiest bike lanes | Book rentals ahead; shops run out on hot weekends |
| September–October | Cooler, thinner crowds, reliable riding | Shorter daylight; bring front and rear lights |
| November–March | Cold, wet, dark by late afternoon | Wind off the IJ, slick tram tracks, and short shop hours |
Rain rarely ruins a ride in Amsterdam. Wind does. A headwind across open water near the IJ or the Amstel is the reason many visitors upgrade to an e-bike halfway through a trip, and it matters more than temperature when you plan a route.
Local rules that catch visitors out
- Cross tram tracks at a sharp angle, never at a shallow one. Front wheels slide into the groove and drop riders instantly, and this is the single most common tourist cycling injury in the city.
- Stay out of the bike lane when you stop. Pull fully onto the pavement to check directions or take photos, since locals commute at speed and will not slow down.
- Signal with your arm before turning, and look over your shoulder first. Amsterdam cyclists read hand signals and expect them.
- Phone use while riding is prohibited in the Netherlands and carries a fine. Mount it or park it.
- Lights are mandatory after dark, front white and rear red. Check both before leaving the shop.
- Lock the frame to a fixed object, not just the wheel. Amsterdam bike theft is opportunistic and constant.
- Never leave a bike in a “no parking” zone near Leidseplein or Centraal. The city removes bikes to a depot, and retrieval costs both money and an afternoon.
Alternatives worth comparing
| Option | Why consider it |
|---|---|
| MacBike | Largest chain, many pickup points, bright red bikes that mark you as a visitor |
| Black Bikes | Plain black bikes that blend in, useful if you dislike looking like a tourist |
| Yellow Bike | Strong tour programme alongside rentals |
| Star Bikes | Cheaper daily rates, east of the centre near Centraal |
| OV-fiets | Cheapest per day if you hold a Dutch public transport card, collected at stations |
How this guide was put together
Addresses, opening hours and starting prices were taken from A-Bike’s own location and rental pages in September 2026 and cross-checked against the I amsterdam listings for each branch. Market price ranges reflect published 2026 Amsterdam rental surveys. Cycling rules follow Dutch national traffic law and City of Amsterdam bike-parking policy. Rates and hours change seasonally, so treat the figures here as a planning baseline and confirm at the point of booking.
