With its famous red light district and coffee houses you would be forgiven for assuming that Amsterdam is more of an adult destination. However, with its lack of traffic, canals and child orientated attractions Amsterdam is the ideal location for families looking to keep children well entertained.
Museums
Most of the museums offer dedicated children’s tours and the Rijksmuseum is free for under-18s. Three other excellent museums are NEMO, Anne Frank Huis and Tropenmuseum. NEMO is a science museum in an incredible green building, which has to be seen to be believed. You can access the roof which gives excellent views of the medieval part of Amsterdam. Anne Frank Huis will be of interest to older children particularly, especially if they have read The Diary of Anne Frank and the Tropenmuseum is colourful enough even to impress the adults.
Other Activities
Vondelpark makes the perfect location to allow children to run around and let off a bit of steam, there is a great caff next to the playground called Het Groot Melkhuis. Alternatively, for a full day out go to Amsterdamse Bos, a goat farm where children can fully interact with the animals.
Another winner for children is a ferry trip across the IJ, you can combine a free ferry ride with dinner at the IJ-kantine. Alternatively there are plenty of canal boat rides on offer, where everyone can enjoy the sites of the city as they are supposed to be viewed.
In the winter ice-skating outdoors is a popular pass time in Amsterdam and one that children will love to join in with. In the winter the canals often freeze, making perfect ice rinks and are one of the most magical ways to experience Amsterdam. Smaller ice rinks pop up all over Amsterdam in the winter. If you would rather be a spectator however, there are plenty of ice-skating races and events which take place throughout winter, for up to date information check with your tourist office or hotel. For those visiting in summer there are indoor rinks available or you could visit Artis Zoo. The oldest zoo in the Netherlands, it has a geological and zoological museum, a planetarium and an aquarium.
Eating Out
Other than the Het Groot Melkhuis and IJ-kantine, finding places to eat as a family can be difficult as most restaurants are small and adult orientated. However if anywhere has ‘eetcafe’ in the name it is usually appropriate for children as well. Loetje, Bazar and Los Pilones are particularly recommended.
In the summer children will love the poffertjes, these are little pancakes sprinkled with sugar and can be bought at temporary stands. In the winter these are substituted with oliebollen, deep fried doughnuts.
Children will also enjoy the big Dutch-style pancakes, Pannenkoekenhuis is recommended as children will love the fairy-tale feel.
Once the children are worn out you can leave them with a babysitting service, offered by most high end hotels, to enjoy the city from a more adult perspective.
Lloyd is a freelance travel writer, who is currently a freelance contributor for Cheapflights.