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.
Imagine — a very special toy shop
One of the most special children’s shops in Amsterdam is without a doubt the toy shop Imagine. This is the place to go if you’re looking for that special gift for that unique child, that cute present for that sweet baby, that handmade coat for that lovely girl or that stylish haircut for that cool boy. The collection at Imagine is ever so special, with lovely retro pieces, a good collection of French and German toys and some delightful Dutch brands (colourful, modern and fun). The staff is amazingly friendly, and will never annoyingly follow you around (not even in the cool basement where the toys for big girls and boys can be found). Truly a delightful shop!! (more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Imps & Elfs | Le Fournil | Issa |
Artis, an old and beautiful Zoo
One of the oldest zoos in Europe, Artis was opened in 1835 and has a very beautiful old setting with terrific gardens and monumental buildings. Most of the animal lodgings have thankfully been modernised since! There are some fantastic playgrounds, and there’s a good restaurant, with plenty of high chairs and facilities to heat up milk or baby food. Also, another good thing to know is that cute pushchairs can be rented for the day for a small deposit. This zoo is not too big but has truly a lot to offer, with plenty of interior fun for rainy days as well. Good for a lovely day out with the family!
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| HEMA | Raining? Go tropical! | Not a fish! |
Tokyo Café
Do your children love sushi as much as mine? My daughter is especially crazy for sushi — she LOVES it… Including the seaweed salad! She really can’t get enough of it!
Good thing that at Tokyo Café you can eat as much sushi and teppanyaki as you like! Grown-ups pay a fixed price of around 20 euros and kids pay 10 (under 4s eat for free), and you can keep on ordering sushi (and other things) until you fall asleep in your chair, like our daughter did.
There are two shifts in the evening, the first one is from 17.30 onwards and the second one from 20.15. Especially during the first shift there are plenty of children around (and tolerated). High chairs are available — I would ask for one when you make the reservation (which is recommended)!
Tokyo Café is a good place to go after an afternoon of shopping or sight-seeing, as it’s located on the Spui (right in the main shopping area). (more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Broer&Zus | Raining? Go tropical! | HEMA |
Kid’s shoes from Meys & Co
My kiddie shoe shop of choice here in Amsterdam is Meys & Co. I’m picky with shoes for my children– they need to be strong, durable, cute (but plain), and slightly old-fashioned. I always find something to my taste at Meys & Co!
There’s a good selection of classic styles mixed with more fashionable footwear, and they also have a good range of hip sneakers and colourful wellies. The ladies in the shop are helpful and patient, and don’t mind kids climbing in the window display at all…
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ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| MIFFY SHOP | Strand Zuid |
MIFFY SHOP
If you’re visiting Amsterdam and have little kids, you should definitely step into the Miffy store on the Scheldestraat. Miffy (‘Nijntje’ in Dutch) is the sweet little bunny designed by Dick Bruna in 1955 who quickly became a world famous character.
The wonderful collection of Miffy books, which discuss a large number of topics (amongst which art, school, childbirth, and death), have been translated to more than 50 languages. There’s a good selection available at the Miffy shop as well as other Miffy merchandise, like clothes, toys, cards and accessories — all great for presents.
Worth a visit!
(more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Kid’s shoes from Meys & Co | Strand Zuid |
Burgermeester
Even though they don’t serve French Fries at Burgermeester (Dutch for mayor), they do serve the most delicious burgers! Think burgers with Blonde d’Aquitaine beef and truffle, lamb with red onion compote, wild duck with Chinese cabbage, salmon with grilled asparagus and lemon mayonnaise… Or the vegetarian burger with falafel and grilled vegetables — all of them super tasty, and accompanied by potatoes, corn on the cob or salad, fresh fruit juices or milkshakes.
Even though the food is upscale, the setting is definitely super relaxed, like a fast food joint ought to be. Meaning food is served quickly, and kids crawling over benches won’t be a bother!
Best of all? All the deli burgers come in mini varieties — perfect for little tummies (or big tummies that like to try them all)!
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Raining? Go tropical! | De Bakkerswinkel | Such fun at TunFun |
Re-live the 17th century in Rembrandt’s House
Last weekend we did something unexpectedly fabulous: we took the children to Rembrandt’s House. Rembrandt, as you might know, was a very famous Dutch painter who lived from 1607 till 1669. From 1625 onwards he lived in Amsterdam. For a big part of his live he was very rich, already well known in his time, and he lived in a beautiful house that is amazingly well conserved and restored and can be visited today.
I didn’t really know what to expect with two little children, but they were SO impressed. Our daughter (4 yrs) listened to her own audio tour, aimed especially at kids, and I can say that at the end of our visit she could give me specific information that I didn’t pick up myself.
If you’re in Amsterdam and want to combine some culture with history and a fun family activity, the Rembrandthuis comes recommended. There’s no restaurant, but walking down to the Staalstraat takes less than 5 minutes and you’ll find Pucinni, with great coffee, good sandwiches and amazing cakes. In the same street you’ll find cute kids gift shop Beestenwinkel, my favourite grown-up gift shop Klevering (that happens to stock some really lovely kids items as well), and a bit up the road there’s Droog Design, a showcase of the famous Dutch design group.
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Broer&Zus | Burgermeester | HEMA |
Do as the Dutch do, bike on a bakfiets
Thanks to its flat (meaning not hilly) landscape, the Netherlands is the perfect place for getting around on bike. It’s also quite safe: bike lanes are virtually everywhere, and drivers are so used to the many bikes around that they take them in careful consideration. So the ‘fiets’ is the preferred means of transportation for most, if not all Dutchmen. We cycle to work, we cycle to school, we cycle to the shops and we also grab the bike if we go out at night (this will also conveniently save us the money for a parking ticket or a taxi).
Kids? No problem. We just take them in front with us when they are little, in a special seat hanging from the steer. When they grow bigger, they get a seat on the back of the bike, if necessary combined with the pre-mentioned seat on the front for a little sibling.
If you have three or more children though, it’s probably time to get a bakfiets. A bakfiets is kind of a cross between a bike and a beach wagon, and you can conveniently fit in as many as 4 children (although I’ve seen people squeeze in even more!). If you’ve ever been in Amsterdam, chances are high that you’ve noticed them around. (more…)
Getting Around
1) Rent a Bakfiets
A great and very Dutch way to get around Amsterdam is on a bakfiets. They can be rented in numerous places around the city, and your kids will love this way of transportation. There are bike lanes everywhere, and cars are very much accustomed to all the bikes around, so it’s all as safe as can be. You can just leave them in a corner on the sidewalk if you’re going inside somewhere, but make sure to lock them well… Read more here.
2) Boat Tour
The best way to experience the wonders of the canals of Amsterdam is by a boat tour (found in front of the Central Station). The beautiful and unique canal houses can be best admired from the water and the great part is that you won’t wear out your little one’s feet. The guides will give you and the kids interesting background information in a number of languages. And there’s a toilet on board, just in case.
3) Tram
A very pleasant way to get around town is on the tram. They allow a few buggies inside (take the bigger entrance in the middle of the tram), and kids will love seeing the city pass in front of the windows and the ‘train-like’ feeling of it all. If you find the maps in the tram-stops confusing just ask the people around for help. Virtually everybody speaks English fluently in Amsterdam, and knows the tram system by heart.
Amsterdam wall stickers from Zuuz
Don’t you love these wall decals? I mean, even if you don’t live in Amsterdam, you surely must like them!?!
These supercool stickers are made by Zuuz, and besides the fact that I really like the images of the typical Dutch canal houses, I love the fact that they are so big — my daughter can draw on them even when she’s standing up! We have a long hallway in our current apartment so we could fit both the crayon sticker set and the outlined houses set next to each other, and it really looks fantastic.
I never knew crayon stickers were so much fun for the kids — my daughter really loves drawing in the windows, the doors, and the people… Brilliant!
These (and other) fun wall decals are available through Dutch webshop Zuuz. (BTW, I love the combination of these wall decals and the pendant lampshade I wrote about earlier!)
xxx Esther
Broer&Zus
Broer&Zus is a wonderful kid’s clothing shop here in Amsterdam that definitely comes recommended! They stocks a great selection of fantastic brands, which makes the shop irresistible to start with. But the best part for me is their own label! They have some great pieces for babies and little people, of great quality and lovely colours.
Their knitted wear is made of the softest alpaca wool, which is anti-allergic, doesn’t itch (I can still remember the worst itchy clothes from when I was a kid!) and is nice, warm and wonderful. The pieces are all made by hand in Peru in a workshop run just by women! I especially love the cardigans — they’re perfect for this time of year and have nice, vibrant colours.
The shirts, skirts and dresses are made of soft poplin cotton, so there’s no need to iron and they stay in excellent shape, and the cotton jersey pieces are lovely in their detailing, like stitching on the outside and little pockets.
Truly a brand to keep coming back to for great staples in your kids’ wardrobe!
Broer&Zus is located in the Jordaan here in Amsterdam and is worth checking out when you’re in town, but they also have a web shop and they ship internationally (just contact them for shipments outside the EU).
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| Pancakes! | Tokyo Café | HEMA |
Amsterdam lamps from Hartendief
Look how lovely this pendant lampshade is… It’s very typical Amsterdam with its cute canal houses! The scene you see on this lamp is called ‘Jordaan’, named after the picturesque neighbourhood in the centre of Amsterdam with its narrow streets, small houses and cute bridges.
Hylkia, the creative brain behind ‘Hartendief‘, originally studied fashion design but after the birth of her daughter started creating accessories for children’s rooms, eventually resulting in a series of these wonderful silhouette lamps. They are very stylish in their simplicity — plain when switched off, but when switched on the silver (or gold) silhouette on the inside of the shade creates a magical shadow world on the outside…
You can order these lamps through the Hartendief store, but if your Dutch is not so polished these days you can just email Hylkia with your questions and wishes in English.
xxx Esther
De Pijp and the Albert Cuypmarket
If you’re in Amsterdam for a bit longer ‘de Pijp’ is a neighbourhood that shouldn’t be missed. It’s really up and coming, and the mix between shabby and chic is something that I love! I’m not going to describe every single shop I like in de Pijp, but I’m sure you’ll find some treasures browsing the little streets of this artistic and multi-culural neighbourhood! What you shouldn’t miss is one of Amsterdam’s most famous markets, the Albert Cuypmarket. Over one hundred years old, this market is open six days a week (closed on Sundays) and offers everything from fresh fish, vegetables and cheeses to clothes, wigs and incense. But I love this market most for it’s cute fabrics and haberdashery! It’s best to go on weekdays, as on Saturday it can be very busy. And don’t forget to try one of those freshly baked syrup waffles, they’re to die for! (But be careful not to give them to your kids too quickly; they’re piping hot!!)
xxx Esther (more…)
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| De Taart van m’n Tante | Bazar |
Bazar
In one of Amsterdam’s hottest neighbourhoods, de Pijp, you can find Bazar, a restaurant serving Arabic dishes in a middle Eastern atmosphere. I really like Bazar, mostly for it’s relaxed atmosphere. No dressing up, no big prices, nothing fancy but on the other hand super relaxed and kid-friendly. Mini picnic tables are put next to the grown-up’s table so the little ones can eat in style. Highchairs are available, colouring plates and crayons free to use and a little corner with television is present. A kid’s menu is available and the ice-cream is a favourite! Great to meet up with friends with kids, the staff really doesn’t mind the little ones running around. They even like to play ball!
xxx Esther (more…)
ALSO IN THE AREA:
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| De Taart van m’n Tante | De Pijp and the Albert Cuypmarket |
Shabbies
Shabbies were originally designed in the seventies by Dutch shoe designer Fred de la Bretoniere and are the most comfortable, fashionable and beautiful boots I own. They’re the perfect mix between nonchalant and chic. Shabby chic!
The colours of the natural leather are seriously amazing, and I really like the fact that they look equally cool with skinny trousers, a skirt or a mini dress. And of course they are much easier to chase kids with than 3 inch high heels!
If you’re interested in a pair of Shabbies of Amsterdam, make your way over to one of the three Fred de la Bretoniere shops. There’s one on the St. Luciensteeg 20; one on the Van Baerlestraat 34 or one on the Utrechtsestraat 77.
