Reply With QuoteI guess the Anne Frank museum must be on the list...
Dear all!
We just booked out travel to Amsterdam in late April :-)
I've been there a few times in my "youth" (decades ago), now the first time with the family (3 kids with me and the mrs, 1, 10, 15 yrs). I think some of those places I visited last time are not appropriate now, so I really appreciate your recommendations!
Van Gogh museum, Rijksmuseum, Keukenhof, what else to see that makes us all happy in the Amsterdam area?
I'm not that online the next few days, so many thanks in advance!
Andreas
I guess the Anne Frank museum must be on the list...
Yup, on the list, thanks! :-)
And, is the "Holland Pass" an option or is it just a, say, rippoff?
Cheers!
Andreas
http://www.madurodam.nl/en/ Model city in Den Haag (the Hague) is approx 1hr from Amsterdam and is fantastic. The Hague is beautiful as well.
Avoid Amsterdam zoo, a lot of the animals had cabin fever when we were there around 8 years ago, incredibly sad.
Go see the alternative living/housing projects at Het Ei.
Visit the wonderfull bookstore Erasmus around the corner from the AF house instead of that place.
If you need to visit a museum choose Het Tropenmuseum. That is unique for the Netherlands.
Wonder over the market on the Albert Cuyp.
Enjoy spring in Artis.
Far better to eat rijsttafel at a Chinees/Indisch restaurant than visit the Wallen. Well maybe perhaps buy something nice for the wife/gf at Christine Le Duc.
In the evening drop in to have a real beer at brewery De Ooievaar.
Keep em coming -- great -- many thanks! :-D
Madurodam, yes, I think I've been there >30yrs ago with my parents?!
And I'll see whether I can convince the mrs to have a real beer with me :-)
Cheers!
Having done Dam on a number of occasions years ago I took my girlfriend there last year for her birthday as she always wanted to go. Stayed in the south west of Amsterdam which is the museum quarter. Lovely place to be and out of the way of the bustle of the dam rack but still only 30-40 mins walk to the central train station so very accessible for all that central jazz. Much more genial and a stone throw from all the nice shops, museums and parks. Plenty of good cafés and restaurants as well as interesting trips like the market at Pijp etc all accessible by foot - in fact walked everywhere bar one restaurant in the whole time.
Would be my first choice of area if I was going back.
Yep and book your tickets online before your holiday, you bypass the enormous queues.Originally Posted by Cirrus
"I looked with pity not untinged with scorn upon these trivial-minded passers-by"
Heineken factory may not be of too much interest to the kids.
Take a boat tour on the Amstel.
Visit Rembrandt's House
Smoke weed
This! and book wheeeeey in advance, I have been to Amsterdam twice and both times failed to get tickets, the queue on the day is literally hudreds of yards long, all day!
When I went with the wife we did the Ajax footy stadium tour (a short train ride away), the Heineken tour(this was brilliant, very modern, there was kids running around the place), the House of Bols(cocktails), the Vodka museum(very small but good), the Sex museum(another small but good one), the museum of medieval torture!(again, small but good) and walked all over the place visiting the squares/bars/shops. Had an amazing time.
The highlight of the trip was a Canal Dinner Cruise, 3hours or so in a glass roof barge motoring down the canals while being wined and dined, starts in daylight as a bit of a tourgiude thing, then goes dark and you see all the lights etc, beautiful. This is actually where I proposed to my wife!
Have a great time!
If you want to go outside Amsterdam, rent a car and go to Efteling, one of the best theme parks ever. The older kids will thank you for that.
The NEMO science center should be great for the oldest kids, the Sea Palace is 'anchored' next to it if you want to have real "Dutch" Chinese which is more Indonesian in fact.
Chinees/Indonesian cuisine. This is a nice place to start in Amsterdam: http://www.kantjil.nl/en/
When staying in Amsterdam, The American Hotel is a great place to start. When you're loaded go to the Amstel Hotel. Amsterdam also has a nice Hilton hotel. Next to the hotel is a stop for canal boats. Great for a trip.
Just a few miles south of Amsterdam is Amstelveen (technically a part of Amsterdam) there's a great hotel as well: http://www.zuiveramsterdam.nl/hotel/ (click on English at the home page). You can leave your car there. Parking in Amsterdam is expensive! In fact the most expensive city of Europe when it comes to parking...
Be advised: when using public transport, you'll need a chip card. Day passes can be bought at various places. Info here: http://en.gvb.nl/reisinformatie/welk...Toeristen.aspx
Just pm me if you have additional questions!
Menno
Had some lovely lunches in Cafe van Odette; would definitely go there for a bite to eat :-)
Have a great trip.
Tris
I went with the wife a few years back and found a place where you could go on a boat trip with a guide on a small 6 seater thing that went round all the back waters etc. It was fab we took a picnic, some fizz, and a joint. I'm sure if you did some research you could find out where it is organised from.
I love Amsterdam!! :)
Here's my ha'porth
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=1#post1772791
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
If you haven't booked a hotel, I recommend staying at the Crowne Plaza — it's comfortable, the central location is fantastic (the Newcastle to Amsterdam ferry bus drops off round the corner, it's virtually across the road from the main station, and it's just two minutes walk from Dam Square), and the staff are amazingly friendly for a big chain hotel.
http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotel...nl/hoteldetail
There's also a great traditional Dutch restaurant across the street:
www.vanspeyk.com
Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (English: Our Lord in the Attic)...historic, interesting, educational (not only because it's in the middle of the red light district)...expect to carry your one-year old up and down stairs.
Good point. I forgot about that because the last few times we crashed at friends who live at Het Ei and went with public transport from there.
Find any P&R to go into the centre and over there most is very close.
I remembered another; the kids will pobably very much like the NINT, the technical 'museum', a lot.
OP; be aware that although the Netherlands are small so distances limited, places like Madurodam,
Keukenhof and the Efteling can involve several hours of travel each way as the infrastructure of the Randstad has a serious capacity problem. You will need to calculate travel time, not kilometers.
You would p.e. be far more efficient with time to visit Amersfoort instead of Leiden or Delft if you want to see a relatively unspoiled old dutch town centre.
The old part of the Haarlem also VERY typical. The central square has not changed since the middle ages.
The Frans Hals - and Tylers museum are real gems and walking distance.
Haarlem is almost more like old Amsterdam than Amsterdam; canals and all! The Munt has a sister building in Haarlem p.e. No parking problems.
If you want the family to experience typical old netherlands ambient then go visit Haarlem instead of the obligatory Amsterdam tourist traps.
From Haarlem it is a very scenic hop following the beautifull Spaarne to get to Spaarndam and the Hans Brinker statue with the finger in the dyke. A silly story but kids like it.
From Spaardam back to Amsterdam (over Amstelveen) the route past Ruigoord is ever so pretty and typically dutch polder landscape. Even if you are not into the alternative, then Ruigoord is still worth a look as it is a very much alive alternative village rooting all the way back to the sixties. It is an important live part of modern history/society.
Last edited by Huertecilla; 28th January 2014 at 12:07.
Leave the kids at home and all the places you visited decades ago are still their and worth visiting again ;)
So many useful recommendations -- thank you very much!
I'll spend some time to note them down and try to organise as much as possible in advance...
And:
That's not an option for this time, unfortunately ;-) , but maybe there will be another trip...
Cheers!
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