CONTACT INFO:

Jewish Historical Museum and JHM Children’s Museum
Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1
Amsterdam
T +31 (0)20 5310310

*map*

Open daily 11.00 – 17.00

(For exceptional closing days check the museum’s website)

Amsterdam’s botanical garden, the Hortus Botanicus, was established in 1638 as a medical garden, and is now one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. It’s a fairly small botanical garden, but it still houses over 4,000 plant species (about 2% of all plant species growing on Earth), amongst which a good selection of carnivorous plants (that my kids find absolutely fascinating), cycads or ‘dinosaur plants’ and a giant water lily.
Children can see how rice grows, learn where cinnamon comes from, and study the transition from caterpillar to butterfly in the butterfly greenhouse. The old orangerie has been renovated and now houses a restaurant with purely organic dishes (high chairs present), and there’s a small gift shop with a cute selection of toys and books.
All in all, a lovely and educational escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, and, thanks to the greenhouses, a chance to enjoy nature even when it’s raining cats and dogs.

CONTACT DETAILS:

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam
Plantage Middenlaan 2a
1018 DD Amsterdam

tel 020 – 625 90 21 or 020 – 625 84 11 (recorded message)
fax 020 – 625 70 06
e-mail info@dehortus.nl

The Hortus is open:
Monday thru Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday and holidays 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Dogs and other pets are not allowed in the Hortus.

After taking the children to the Rembrandt House a while ago, we thought it would be a good idea to now take them to the Rijksmuseum to see Rembrandt’s most famous painting, the Nachtwacht (Night Watch). The Rijksmuseum is Amsterdam’s Arts, Craft and History museum and houses a large and important collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age (think Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals).
The fact that the museum is currently being renovated, and has only the ‘best of” on display, makes it a more manageable size for children. There are some lovely publications for sale in the bookshop that will help you make the visit as interesting for your children as for you. And the doll’s house is seriously amazing, I still remember that from my childhood, and I’m pretty sure it made an equally big impression on my kids. Don’t miss it!

CONTACT DETAILS:

Rijksmuseum, The Masterpieces and Infocentre (The New Rijksmuseum)
Jan Luijkenstraat 1, Amsterdam
Phone number: +31 (0)20 6747000

Open every day from 9:00 to 18:00
Closed: 1 January
25 December the museum closes at 18.00
Please note: the museum ticket counter closes at 17:30!
Tip: if there’s a long line and you’re visiting with small children, try the member’s fast lane…

Note: Due to the renovation the Rijksmuseum currently has no eatery, but the Cobra Café on the Museumplein will give a 15% discount on the menu if you show your Rijksmuseum ticket. It has a terrace with a little playground right next to it (with a really challenging climbing frame that my kids love!).

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!

Tokio Café
Spui 15
1012 WX Amsterdam
Tel: 020 4897918

*Map*

Open daily from 11:00 till 23:00

Burgermeester has 3 locations:

Pijp:
Albert Cuypstraat 48
1072 CV Amsterdam
tel: 020 6709339
*Map*

Jordaan:
Elandsgracht 130
1016 VB Amsterdam
tel: 020 4236225
*Map*

Near Artis:
Plantage Kerklaan 37
1018 CV Amsterdam
tel: 020 4280211
*Map*

Open daily from 12:00 to 23:00
email: mail@burgermeester.eu

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.

Rembrandt House Museum
Jodenbreestraat 6
1011 NK Amsterdam
tel: 020 5200400

*Map*

Open: daily 10.00 – 17.00

Closed on January 1st

If you happen to be in Amsterdam and have a few hours to spare for some coffee and shopping, Utrechtsestraat is a good place to go.
The Koffiesalon, a lovely coffee-shop (in the true meaning of the word), has good seating, great espresso, yummy cakes and sandwiches and you can help yourself to as much water as you like. I brought my daughter here for some mummy and daughter time before and we both greatly enjoyed it. It’s also a good place to meet friends or even have an informal meeting.
Not far up the road, at number 74, you’ll find one of my favourite shops in Amsterdam, Jan. The shop owner, Janna, who obviously has great taste, has gathered a fantastic selection of products. Lamps, cushions, dinnerware and cutlery are amongst the stock, but the shop also features fashion accessories such as bags, belts, jewelery and watches, and some lovely toys and kiddie books. If you need a present or want to treat your own family (= yourself), don’t miss it.
Next door you’ll find Bellerose (they have good kids’ clothes). Funky ladies fashion can be found at Jan Lensen, beautiful French and Italian ceramics at Kom, great interior pieces at Mobilia, and there are many, many more great shops and restaurants. Maybe you’ll need more than a few hours!

Utrechtsestraat
Amsterdam

*map*

HEMA is one of those shops (or concepts really), that is almost impossible to describe. If you’ve ever set foot in a HEMA, you understand. In fact, you get the concept immediately, and you’re a fan instantly – no denial possible! And you just understand why we, Dutchmen, are all raving about it, and why this chain of shops is what we miss most when we move abroad…
So, what is HEMA?
HEMA is a Dutch chain of shops that only sells HEMA-brand products. No luxury products, but products that are meant for daily use and that are functional yet fun. The assortment is wide and prices are low (we like that in the Netherlands), designs are trendy and fresh, simple and colourful. The quality is good, and overall the products are seriously so much fun that you can’t help bringing home yet another cool tea-towel, notebook or cute cookie-cutter set for the kids!

The baby and kid’s products of HEMA are seriously adorable. Great onesies, lovely toys, fun towels, wonderful sheets and pajamas (with matching pajama for the doll), perfect party products (from garlands to cakes), great craft projects… I can go on and on, and I didn’t even start about the Jip and Janneke range yet!

If you happen to travel to the Netherlands, MAKE SURE to step into a HEMA. You will like it, I am sure! Just ask a random person on the streets for the nearest HEMA and he/she will direct you…

P.S. This un-official online HEMA shop is as cool as everything else HEMA!

I love soap. And, much to my husband’s chagrin, I love soap shops! A beautiful soap shop here in Amsterdam is La Savonnerie, where soap is being made by hand, the traditional way — all with natural ingredients and all hand-stamped!

Many, many, many beautiful bars of soap can be found here, in the most gorgeous shapes, colours and scents. And, if you are you looking for a cute give-away for a birthday or other festive occasion — La Savonnerie can stamp any soap with your own special text!

A visit to this lovely shop is totally worth it (and it is very close to one of my favourite shopping areas in Amsterdam, the Nine Streets). Next to the soaps they also carry a nice selection of lovely bathroom articles and… they have a small collection of the cutest toys imaginable!

xxx Esther

La Savonnerie
Prinsengracht 294
1016 HJ Amsterdam
Nederland
Telephone 020-4281139

*map*

Opening hours
Mon – Sat 10:00 -18:00

These days we just love meeting friends for breakfast or brunch on a weekend morning. Breakfast is probably my favourite meal of the day to start with, but besides that, early in the day my kids are still well rested and thus more enjoyable (as opposed to overall crankiness at dinner time)! Also, like every other parent with little children, we’re awake early anyways, so we might as well start our social schedule before noon! (Of course the friends we are meeting have kids too – the friends without kids would be crazy to leave their beds before noon on a weekend morning! In fact, it should be forbidden – what a waste!)

My favourite breakfast place is ‘De Bakkerswinkel’ (The Bakers’ Shop). Not only can you buy yummy breads, cakes and scones at the counter of ‘The Bakkerswinkel’, they also serve a wonderful (Dutch style) breakfast, lunch or tea in the restaurant area, which always has a very cozy and homey feel to it! Think jars of honey and home-made jams on the table, big cups of cappuccinos (small cups of babyccinos for the little ones of course), baskets filled with delicious breads, scones, etc. The menu is big enough to have something yummy for everyone’s taste!

My favourite ‘Bakkerswinkel’ in Amsterdam (there are three of them) is the one in the Warmoesstraat (near Amsterdam’s Central Station). They have a cute little setup in the back for children (some toys, books and crayons on a cute little table), and my children always end up making friends up there (and leave us grown-ups alone for a bit)! They also have a couple of highchairs handy for smaller kids. And the staff is always very friendly!

What a great way to start a weekend day!

xxx Esther

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De Bakkerswinkel
Warmoesstraat 69
1012 HX Amsterdam
Tel 020-489 8000
*Map*

Opening hours
For breakfast: Tue-fri 8.00 -12.00, Sat 8.00 – 12.00, Sun 10.00 – 12.00
Lunch: Tue – Sun 12.00 – 16.00
High tea: Tue – Sun 14.00 – 16.00
(Closed on Mondays)

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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! There were so many interesting things for her to see; think life size mock-ups of Arabic shops, a real Bedouin tent, sculptures made of aluminum foil (Thailand), fabrics to feel, music to listen to, loads and loads of buttons to press activating different lights or sounds…
It’s all truly interesting and educational. I can imagine it would also be great to bring older children here to give them insight in what they have learned at school! Or, if you’re about to travel to exotic places, it would be good to go here beforehand and study the culture a bit to prepare yourself and your children for what to expect!

Besides the general kids’ activities the museum has to offer (puzzle-routes in Dutch and creative workshops on weekends), the museum has fantastic special kids’ programmes (best to check the site to see what is going on).
I really like the restaurant too; there is a lovely terrace overlooking the East-park, and the menu is international so you can literally have a taste of other cultures (the Suriname roti is really good)! High chairs are available.

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Tropenmuseum
Linnaeusstraat 2
1092 CK Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 568 8200
Open daily from 10 am – 5 pm (On 5, 24 and 31 December from 10 am – 3 pm)
Closed on 1 January / 30 April / 5 May / 25 December
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In an old tunnel and pedestrian passageway, under a busy square in the center of Amsterdam, a kids paradise is created: TunFun. This indoor playground is the ideal place to bring your overactive kids on a cold or rainy day. There are playzones for different age groups, with trampolines, jump cushion, ball pools, slides, and much much more: plenty of opportunity for your kids to climb/kreep/crawl…
The venue looks odd but at the same time very cool - you actually do have the feeling you’re in a tunnel (a very spacious one, don’t worry); the tram can be seen passing by over your head! There’s a lot of scaffolding, graffiti and traffic lights going on, adding to the feeling of cool urbanity. Toddlers and pre-schoolers will love the challenges this place offers, but older kids (up to 12) will still love this place, because it’s so cool.

Plenty of benches and couches are provided for the parents to sit down have a cup of coffee and read one of the magazines or newspapers around.
Well, idealy.I think that the older the children are, the more relaxing your time at TunFun will be: even though they have a seperate soft play area for the little ones, my 11-month old still needed my help and support. Meanwhile, my 2 1/2 year old was so excited she dissapeared in the section 4 years and up – 4 floors of crawling, climbing and sliding, in which she had no problem mountaineering into, but more trouble coming back from! After looking for her for 5 minutes in this gigantic playground, I saw her crying about 6 meters over my head on the top floor. Dutyfull mother as I am, I ended up climbing and crawling through this oversized foam climbing rack, bending myself in all shapes to come to her rescue, only to find out that the whole panick proved to be slightly exagerated – and in fact just an excuse to get me up there!

Oh well, I guess I needed the work-out.

Changing room and kids toilets are available, nappies are for sale together with a variety of basic drinks and snacks (nothing fancy).

I hear going here in a weekend is not the best of an idea (I’m weary of finding out for myself), but on weekday mornings it’s nice and quiet.

xxx Esther

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TunFun
Mr. Visserplein 7
1011 RD Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 689 4300
*Map*
Open daily from 10AM to 6PM (last admissions at 5PM)
Closed on April 30 / January 1

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But a Science Centre!
NEMO is a fantastic building in the heart of Amsterdam designed by the world famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. It resembles a big ship heading for the ocean and it houses a great place to entertain your children. Their cute motto is: forbidden NOT to touch!
I read on the NEMO website that the primary target group is children aged between 6 and 16, but we brought our 2 1/2-year-old daughter together with her 64-year-old grandfather and both of them enjoyed themselves immensely! There are soap bubbles so big you can stand in them, life size kaleidoscopes, a DNA exhibit, and they show you how to provide a house from energy, etc. etc. Everything is set-up in a playful, interactive matter. We were there on a Saturday, so not the quietest of days you can imagine, but still there were no lines and we were able to do every experiment we were interested in.
From the sloping roof-piazza, the panorama over Amsterdam is magnificent. In summer, this roof-piazza transforms to a city beach with sand, beanbags, stunning harbour views and tapas-style snacks. No NEMO ticket is necessary to get here (either by means of the exterior stairs, or the lift inside the building), but before you go you should check the opening hours on the NEMO website because they depend on the weather.

Food wise – I would suggest to have lunch on the top floor of new public library next door. Here you find really good, fresh food, nice fruit juices and plenty of high chairs. (Unless you fancy a simple hot dog or soft bun, then NEMO will serve you just right).

xxx Esther

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Nemo
Oosterdok 2 (on the east side of the central trainstation; walking distance)
1011 VX Amsterdam
+ 31 (0) 20 531 3233
*Map*
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 to 17.00 hrs. (Closed on Mondays)
Closed: April 30 / December 25 / January 1

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What exactly are pancakes? In America they are thick and small and eaten for breakfast in stacks – the higher the stack the cooler the cowboy! In France they are called crêpes and are very large, thin and delicate and eaten for lunch or a snack from one of the little street stands.

In Holland, ‘pannekoeken’ are the size of an average frying pan, and are a bit thicker than a crêpe but thinner than American pancakes. Traditionally they are eaten for dinner, usually after the traditional Dutch pea soup called ’snert’, with a variety of savoury (bacon&syrup, cheese&paprika) or sweet (apple, banana, icing sugar, sugar syrup, confiture) toppings. It’s a children’s favourite.

We just discovered a restaurant called Pancakes!, which serves, well, pancakes (in all different varieties) and is conveniently located in the center of the ‘nine streets’ in Amsterdam (a little shopping delight for the ones who don’t know it yet)! They have highchairs (I counted at least three) and a children’s menu that comes with a little surprise. Might your little one get bored after all, a toy-box filled with books, toys and games is present, or the staff can provide crayons and paper. There’s a microwave for warming up milk, and a baby changing table in the basement. Eet smakelijk!

xxx Esther

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Pancakes
Berenstraat 38
1016 GH Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 528 9797
*Map*
Open daily from 10.00 to 19.00

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