Traveling to Amsterdam with kids? Here's an insider guide for what to do and where to go, tested by us and proven to be kid-friendly and cool.
Strand Zuid
Last week we finally had a nice and warm, summery day in the Netherlands, so a girlfriend and I took our children to one of the hip & cool city beaches here in Amsterdam: Strand Zuid (South Beach).
Behind the (big & ugly) congress centre, ‘Amsterdam Rai’, and on the border of the Beatrix Park pond, a lovely treasure is hidden: a beach in the middle of Amsterdam!
There are 2,000 square meters of sand, chill-out areas, bars & terraces with good food, sun-loungers, a beach volleyball field and showers. It’s great to bring your children here on a warm summer day; they can enjoy themselves in the sand and play with all the other kids, while you can relax a bit with a rosé and pretend to be in the Mediterranean…
It’s also not a bad place to come without children – for a stylish dinner on a nice summer evening… It’s open until midnight on weekends.
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Kid’s shoes from Meys & Co | MIFFY SHOP |
Tony Chocolonely
Since we moved back to the Netherlands (now about a year ago), I’ve noticed these brightly-coloured ‘Tony’s Chocolonely’ chocolate bars around. The wrapping is very garish and in-your-face (cool though), and not at all like the packaging I usually go for in Chocolate Land (meaning matte dark-brown paper, golden accents and names like ‘La Maison du Chocolat’ or ‘Marcolini’ – I’m posh like that 
). But the fact that my hairdresser, who uses Aveda and makes an effort to be very earth-friendly and chic in general, had Tony’s Chocolonely’s bars on the counter made me decide to try one.
I must say, I was certainly not disappointed! I tried the blue 72% cacao variety and it was beautifully brittle and tasty. By now I was getting curious – what’s the story behind these different-looking chocolate bars with their weird name?
A visit to Tony Chocolonely’s website explained it all, and made me laugh and cry at the same time… (more…)
Raining? Go tropical!
The Tropenmuseum (Tropical Institute) of Amsterdam is one of those museums where you walk in and feel the grandeur of what once was… I have that same feeling in similar beautiful buildings, like the Natural History Museum in London, or the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Brussels…
It’s about anthropology, discovery, history, about dangerous expeditions and great adventures… Dr. Livingstone, I presume???
The original name of the Tropical Institute was Colonial Museum and it was first opened in Haarlem in 1871 (the current building in Amsterdam was inaugurated in 1926). The initial aim of the museum was to exhibit products and crafts from the Dutch overseas territories. There are however not many Dutch colonies left and the building is huge, so nowadays the exhibitions display art, objects, photographs, music and film from non-western cultures in general, giving an insight into the daily lives of the people of the tropics and subtropics.
It’s really a fantastic museum to visit, and also great for children. We went last weekend (it was raining), and our 3-year-old LOVED it! (more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Artis, an old and beautiful Zoo | Broer&Zus | Burgermeester |
De Taart van m’n Tante
Yesterday morning I took my little family for a treat: we went to ‘De Taart van m’n Tante‘ (Cakes of my Aunt) for coffee and cake. ‘De Taart van m’n Tante’ is not just an ordinary tearoom with your everyday kind of cake — in fact, it might be the most kitschy tearoom of Amsterdam, with the most spectacular cakes!
The men behind ‘De Taart van m’n Tante’, Siemon and Noam, strive to make everybody (young and old, conservative and hip, Sikhs and nuns) at home in their cake parlour, and in my opinion they have succeeded. I especially love the grandma-style sofa and coffee-table in the back!
The cakes are yummy (my daughter was very happy to find out that they serve a super sweet strawberry cake entirely covered in pink marzipan – exactly to her taste!) and the owners really easygoing. They didn’t seam to mind at all that my little boy was screaming for cookies – in fact, they just gave him a plate full of them! (more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Bazar | De Pijp and the Albert Cuypmarket |
Airport fun…
Flying with children is always a challenge. But it helps if the airport you’re flying from has really good facilities around — you want to keep the kids entertained, as you want them to sleep ON the flight, not beforehand!
Did you know that ‘Schiphol‘, Amsterdam’s airport, is the first airport in the world to have a museum in its terminal? And not any museum — it is an annexe of the famous Rijksmuseum! So while waiting for your flight, you can show your kids ten works by famous Dutch masters (like Jan Steen, or Rembrandt)!
Or, visit the ‘Babycare Lounge’, where parents can take care of their babies in private — bathe them, feed them and/or let them sleep in one of the seven bed cabins, which include comfortable seats for the parents. Sounds good, no? (Well, I guess they could have thought of a bed for parents too)! (more…)
Issa
Every now and then, when I really don’t feel like cooking and it is still early in the evening, we take the kids to Issa, a little Japanese restaurant around the corner from us here in Amsterdam. This restaurant is particularly popular in our family because not only do we all love Japanese food (even the baby does), it also has a tiny private area in the back with traditional Japanese low tables. Such fun! My daughter loves taking her shoes off and sits at the table as if she is twelve years old instead of three; the baby likes playing the ‘climb onto the table’-game until we finally get enough of it and strap him into his Phil&Teds Me Too chair.
Last night at Issa we tried a new dish: Okonomiyaki, or Japanese Pancake. A true discovery! (more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Imagine — a very special toy shop | Imps & Elfs | Le Fournil |
