The Unknown Ahead

Amsterdam is often associated with some unsavory activities that seem more suited to bachelor parties than visiting with your wholesome, innocent children. And although you can certainly find some adult-oriented fun in the Red Light District, Amsterdam is so much more than red lights and “coffee” shops.

So what is there to do with kids? A lot!

Does your family enjoy cheese? Welcome to the home of Gouda and Edam! Do you like wandering around various museums? Get ready to get your learn on! How about charming canals, boat rides, and parks? Amsterdam has them everywhere you look! Add on some shopping and amazing food (stroopwaffles, too!), and you have yourself a lovely family holiday.

Typically, I lay out trips as an itinerary; however, Amsterdam can be mixed-and-matched in a wide variety of ways. We visited in early June, and the weather was rainy and cool. Definitely be prepared with a decent rain jacket and lots of layers. For this post, I’m going to break down Amsterdam by activity, and you can mix them up when the weather suits you best.

A few notes on transportation:

1. It’s easy to take the train into Amsterdam Centraal or Amsterdam Zuid from the airport. Exit the terminals area, get your luggage, and head into the main lobby of the airport. You’ll find kiosks for the train and can pay by credit card. Kids can travel all day long for only € 2,5 on the trains. You then walk down a flight of stairs to catch the actual train. I’d suggest checking out the NS app to learn more about the train system.
2. Need to stash your luggage somewhere? Sometimes your hotel or rental isn’t ready at the most convenient times. Check out Radical Storage! There are a ton of spots where you can drop your luggage in Amsterdam and roam around empty-handed until your accommodations are ready.
3. There are a lot of transportation options, but we found walking to be the easiest. There are a lot of areas that are only for pedestrians and bikes. Often, the most direct route to where you’re going will be on foot. The good news is that Amsterdam is extremely flat, so even a 20+ minute walk is enjoyable and filled with cute architecture along the way.
4. Uber is easy. If you want to get to the other side of town, we found Uber to be pretty quick. Since so much of the town caters to pedestrians though, sometimes driving routes are really weird.
5. Don’t rent a bike. The locals use the bike lanes daily and get understandably annoyed when tourists clog up the bike lanes and don’t understand the flow of traffic. Always look both ways for bike traffic when crossing the streets!
6. Although the train system is widespread throughout the city, we honestly didn’t use it that often. When looking at options in Google Maps, it seemed a lot of our choices were either a 20 minute walk OR a 7 minute walk to a train followed by another 7 minute walk on the other side of the train ride…not super convenient and not a huge time-saver.

Lodging

We stayed at the Hotel Estherea for the first half of our trip. It’s gorgeous. Located on the west side of the city on a cute canal, this hotel is beyond beautiful. There is a lovely lobby, several sitting areas, a cat that loves welcoming guests, free candy in jars all over the building, free coffee and hot chocolates, and little cookies and cakes in the afternoon. For an additional price, you can enjoy snacks and cocktails in the bar. This hotel wasn’t cheap though at €450+ per night. Be aware that Amsterdam loves extra fees for tourists. On top of the hotel price, there is a 9% VAT and a 7% city tax. According to the internet, the 7% tax is supposed to increase to 12% at some point in 2024. Be sure to read all the fine print so that you really understand how much money your hotel room will cost.

Since we were in the land of canals, I thought it would be fun to rent a houseboat for the second part of our week. What says authentic Holland living more than a houseboat? It was SO much fun and really comfortable! My husband was skeptical, but the boat was flooded with light from windows and skylights. It was also really nice to have a bottle of wine in the outdoor sitting area in the evenings. You can find houseboat rentals on Airbnb and VRBO at many different price points.

Authentic Dutch Food

There are so many amazing restaurants in Amsterdam! Here were our favorites:

The Pantry – You can order off of the menu or select from one of their multi-course tasting menus. Try some hutspot and fondue! The dessert menu was divine – stroopwaffle ice cream, poffertjes (mini pancakes), chocolate duo, and apple pie. I think this was my favorite restaurant in Amsterdam.

Moeder’s – Translated as Mother’s, this is cooking like your Dutch mom would make at home. The decor is eclectic with photos of moms all over the walls. We ordered the HOLLANDSE RIJSTTAFEL for the table which was a combination platter of many Dutch specialties. It was a ton of food and fun to share around the table.

Hap-Hmm – Another location for typical Dutch meals in a cozy space. I liked The Pantry and Moeder’s better, but this was still a great meal if you’re looking for local dishes.

Pesca Vis Seafood – If you like seafood, this restaurant is a must! When you enter, you’re immediately offered a glass of sparkling wine (yes, please!). You then proceed to the fish counter where you pick out what you want to eat based on what they have available that day. There isn’t a menu! We chose a branzino, some scallops, calamari, and oysters. You then move onto a little wine counter where you choose your drinks before being seated at your table. Although it sounds really fancy, it was also very kid-friendly if your children like fish. Mine shovel down calamari without regard for anyone else at the table, so no problem there. They coursed everything out nicely, and it was a lot of fun. Highly recommend!

Foodhallen – I love food markets because everyone can find something that they like and there’s usually great people watching! This indoor food hall had a lot of choices ranging from seafood to tacos to Asian to vegetarian – with 20 vendors, no one is leaving hungry.

The Pancake Bakery – You have never seen pancakes quite like these! Offered in a zillion different sweet and savory options, these huge pancakes are sure to delight. I tried the banana rum…what a great way to start your day! The hot chocolates were amazing too. We did have to wait a little bit for a table, so know that this is a popular spot.

Bakkerij Wolf – Great morning spot for some breakfast, a pastry, and coffee. This shop opens at 8AM, but in general, I was really surprised how late coffee shops opened up in Amsterdam. There were several little pastry shops that didn’t open until 10AM! As an American, I’m used to having my coffee at 6AM no problem, so it was a bit of a culture shock that breakfast seemed to happen a lot later here.

Herring – OK, controversial, but my dad and I LOVE herring. We ate it every chance that I could get. There are two main herring stands in Amsterdam: Frens Haringhandel and Stubbe’s Haring. You can find them on my interactive Google Map at the end of this post. There’s no seating, just pop into the little shop and order your herring with onions and pickles. My son opted for smoked salmon instead, which also looked really good.

Stroopwaffles – There are many little stroopwaffle spots where they’re making them fresh and hot. I really enjoyed them at van Wonderen Stroopwafels and Hans Egstorf. These are gooey to perfection! You’re on vacation, so calories don’t count.

Museums

There are a ton of great museums throughout Amsterdam. Be aware that many of these museums require an online reservation well in advance. Amsterdam is a really popular spot for tourists, so the main attractions book out months in advance. There are also discounts on several attractions if you book online as opposed to buying tickets on site.

Anne Frank House – This is a really busy museum, so definitely a ticket you want to grab as soon as they become available online. From the website: “every Tuesday at 10am CET all tickets become available for a visit six weeks later.” The price of admission varies depending on age from € 1.00 to € 16.00 to see the museum. This includes an audio tour in the language of your choice, and there’s a separate audio tour just for kids. We opted to listen to a 30-minute presentation before going into the house. I think this was a really good way to set the stage for the kids and give them an opportunity to ask questions. If you want to read the diary before your visit to Amsterdam, that would be a great idea too. There are no photos allowed in the actual house.

Van Gogh Museum – This is another really popular spot, so get tickets in advance. Adults are € 22 and kids under 18 are free. Be aware that there are a lot of paintings by Van Gogh’s friends and influences as well – it’s not all Van Gogh. Although my kids enjoy art, I have to admit that they got a little bored here. It was really crowded, and the museum didn’t have a few of the iconic pieces that my kids wanted to see.

Rijksmuseum – My husband and I visited this museum years ago, but we didn’t go with the family this time around. It’s a great museum, we just didn’t get to it. This is a mixture of art and local history in a really iconic building. The most popular painting here is probably The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer. Kids under 18 are also free here. In retrospect, I think we probably should have come here instead of the Van Gogh museum with the kids.

NEMO Science Museum – This is a really neat building on the east side of the city. There’s lots of hands-on science learning for the kids, and it’s fun for adults too. There’s also a rooftop cafe with amazing views of Amsterdam. Do some science experiments, play with bubbles, learn about energy – it has all the popular science topics. We spent about 3 hours here. Tickets are €17.50 and free under 3.

Royal Palace Tour – The largest building in Dam Square is the Royal Palace, and it’s certainly opulent inside! You can roam around the various rooms and listen to an audio guide. We ended up getting there with only an hour to spare before they closed, so we blitzed through the rooms somewhat quickly. I wish we had a little more time though because it was really beautiful. It was built in 1665 as a community space, but was turned into a palace by Louis Bonaparte in 1808. Tickets are €12.50 and good any time on the selected day.

Maritime Museum – Have a kiddo that’s interested in boats? This is the place for you! Housed in a really cool building, the Maritime Museum has exhibits on old maps, ships, navigation equipment, ye old sea monsters, and a replica of a Dutch VOC ship. The exhibits were really lovely and well thought out. This is a stop that I hadn’t planned in advance, but it started out as a rainy day and we needed an indoor activity. I’m so glad we went though! Tickets are €18.50 for adults, €8.50 for kids 13-17, and free for those under 12.

Other Activities

Not only is Amsterdam full of museums, but it also has a lot of green spaces and opportunities for tours. One of the most popular tours is taking a boat ride through the canals. There are plenty of boat companies, but the most popular seems to be Those Dam Boat Guys. You can also take dinner cruises in the evenings, if you’re looking for a little romance. These canal tours are a great way to see the city, check out the various neighborhoods, learn some history, and take a little break from walking.

If you get a sunny day, head to Vondelpark near the museum campus. It’s a huge green space with restaurants, bars, playgrounds, ponds, walking trails, and even splash pads. We visited on a weekend and saw a free concert in the park too. You could easily spend a whole day wandering around, listening to music, having a beer, and feeding the ducks.

I love zoos, so we had to check out ARTIS. This zoo is really beautifully landscaped and has all the animals you would expect plus elephants and jaguars. We spent the majority of the day enjoying the animals and watching the kids play. One weird thing to note though is that all of the cafes in the zoo seem to be heavily vegetarian or vegan. That’s great if you’re vegetarian or vegan! It was just a surprise to me. My son ordered a hot dog not knowing it was vegan, and he was not overly happy about it. Just something to consider, if you’re planning to eat at the zoo.

Amsterdam is famous for tulips and flowers, so be sure to check out the Bloemenmarkt or Flower Market. It’s just one street where there are a ton of flower vendors and touristy shops. If you’re looking for a sweatshirt, this would be a good location to look about for those souvenirs. This area is also home to a popular cheese store – Henri Willig. There are several locations, but no matter where you visit, you’ll be stuffed full of cheese samples by the time you leave. There are a million different types of Gouda, Edam, and smoked cheeses. If the cheese is wrapped in wax, you can bring it home to the States…or just eat it while walking the streets…who can wait that long to eat cheese?!

It’s not my style to bash places in my blog, but I’m going to make an exception for the Botanic Garden (Hortus Botanicus). Don’t go. It’s really tiny, barely has any blooming plants, and costs nearly $15 per person for an attraction that takes literally 20 minutes to see. Hard pass. I have regrets about this stop. Oh well.

Day Trips

There is plenty to do in the little towns surrounding Amsterdam. We did a morning tour of Zaanse Schans, Edam, and Volendam. You can drive to these towns yourself, take the train or book a bus tour.

Zaanse Schans is home to several windmills that made Amsterdam prosperous and livable back in the day. These windmills were used to pump water (Amsterdam is below sea level), grind grains, and saw wood. They are really beautiful, so have your camera handy. This little town caters to tourists, so although you can purchase souvenirs here, know that you’re paying tourist prices.

Edam is home to cheese and wooden shoes. You can see how the shoes were made and sample cheese and chocolate here. It’s also a really adorable town to explore.

Volendam is on the water and really beautiful. There were several great restaurants for lunch and more price-friendly souvenir shops.

We didn’t get a chance to visit Delft, Haarlem, Gouda or The Hague, but I would very much suggest looking into these locations too depending on how much time you have for your vacation.

A little side note on these smaller towns – some locals aren’t keen on having huge bus loads of tourists pushing through their town. It makes sense. Some of these tours don’t even spend money in the city, they just walk through and then hop back on the bus to get to the next place. Please be sure to be a respectful visitor.

Final Thoughts

We very much enjoyed our time in Amsterdam. I wish we had more time to explore the smaller towns and beaches too. It’s a city full of interesting history, amazing food, unique architecture, and lots to explore. Everyone speaks perfect English, so it’s very easy to navigate and communicate.

Grab a Heineken, get some herring, try a Genever, and enjoy the bustle of Amsterdam!

You’ll find all of my suggestions on this Google Map!