PLAY
Vondelpark
One of the nicest things about visiting Amsterdam with a young family is how many beautiful and spacious outdoor parks and playgrounds there are around town, each one with its own special charm. No matter where you are situated, there is likely to be at least one park within an easy walking or biking distance. ...
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TIPS
Getting Around
Amsterdam is an exceptional city renowned for its beautiful canals and flat landscapes that enable unique modes of transport to get around town. There are many forms of public and personal transport available, each of which provide a different and special experience when exploring the city. On Foot Central Amsterdam is geographically quite small and ...
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TIPS
Take a Break
For its relatively small geographic size Amsterdam has an abundant number of parks and playgrounds where you can take a pause during your adventures about town. They range from small, inner city playgrounds to large spacious parks where you can while away several hours. Wherever you are in town, a park or play area will not be ...
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EAT
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 ...
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EAT
Boerderij Meerzicht
Nestled away inside the Amsterdam forest, Boerderij Meerzicht is a beautiful Dutch pancake restaurant and farm house that is so much fun for the kids! Boerderij Meerzicht dates back to 1857 (before even the Amsterdam forest existed!) and during the construction of the forest in the early 1900s when many of the other farm houses in the ...
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SEE
Museum Van Loon
Located in the middle of the canal district we loved visiting this small but very interesting canal house. Still owned by the aristocratic Van Loon family you will find some parts of the house closed off for obvious reasons, but the parts which remain open are simply stunning. The house gives you a real insight ...
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STAY
The Hoxton, Amsterdam
Located in the heart of the Herengracht district, one of Amsterdam’s most desirable addresses, The Hoxton hotel is a great place to explore this super cool city with the family. We spent a long weekend together exploring the museums, the markets and simply hanging out with friends and we fell in love with the ...
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TIPS
Grab a Quick Coffee
As most coffee-loving mamas can probably agree, there comes a time as our little ones grow when babyccinos just don't cut it as the perfect cafe distraction. Our darling toddler doesn't want to sit still for even thirty seconds to let us enjoy a sip of our hot cup of caffeinated goodness, there is too much fun ...
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OUT OF TOWN
Zaanse Schans
The Zaanse Schans windmills are a popular tourist attraction all year round, and their location just outside of Amsterdam makes for an easy day trip there. The windmills, which were relocated to Zaanse Schans in the 1960s , provide a glimpse into 18th and 19th Century life in the Netherlands, whereby these large wooden machines were used ...
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EAT
Pancakes Amsterdam
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, ...
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EAT
Radion
Time to let you in on a little local secret...a restaurant bar with a nanny service (yes, you heard correctly, but shhhhhhhh!). Radion is not only a cool, retro-style restaurant and bar with a funky industrial feel (and a nice selection of beers on tap), but on Sundays they provide a nanny service so that you can ...
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SHOP
De Kleine Parade
Nestled into the heart of the trendy district known as De Pijp you will find this little gem. De Kleine Parade is a kids concept store, cafe and atelier that offers a beautifully curated selection of kids clothes, toys, books, home deco and accessories. It is the ideal spot to come with your little ones if you want ...
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EAT
Boca's Bar
If you happen to be in De Pijp area of Amsterdam's South, a great place to stop for drinks and a meal with the family is Boca's Bar. The specialty here is 'broodjes' (little bread roll sandwiches) which are made and presented like a sort of tapas with many different and interesting flavour combinations. You can sample a couple of little ...
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EAT
Foodhallen
Inspired by such places as Torvehallerne in Copenhagen and the Borough Market in London, Foodhallen is The Netherlands' first indoor food market, situated in Amsterdam's West. It is part of De Hallen, a large complex of buildings that are a newly renovated old tram depot dating back to the 19th century. The entire space is still very new with ...
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EAT
Dignita Restaurant
There's a new kid on the block in Amsterdam's Old South and it has fast become popular, not only among trendy city-goers, but also among young families thanks to its child-friendly design. Dignita restaurant specialises in brunch and has been developed with much love and thought, both in terms of décor and in their deliciously crafted menu. The café ...
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SHOP
Minimarkt Concept Store
MiniMarkt is a concept store for children and their parents right on Beethovenstraat just south of Museumplein. This place is so stylish yet cozy that you just keep coming back and it is such a good place to take a rest after a shopping spree on Beethovenstraat or a visit to the museums. You can enjoy ...
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SHOP
Kid's shoes from Meys & Co
My kid's 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 ...
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AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam!
We recently visited Esther and Family in Amsterdam, and it was a such a great trip! So great, that the whole train carriage on the way home had to listen to my kids' lamentations about how Amsterdam is so great and Paris is not! I know what they mean-- it is so nice discovering a ...
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FOR MUMS
KEK wall stickers
Have a look at these awesome real life animal wall stickers by Amsterdam company KEK -- how cool are they? I love the giant bear and the XL owl, but also adore the tiny hummingbird (which is flying around in Sara and Pim's room) and this cute hedgehog. Wall stickers are such a quick and easy ...
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PLAY
Amstelpark
We love taking the kids over to the Amstelpark for a walk and a play in the big playground. It's also a great spot for a summery picnic -- in the quiet areas close to the river we've often seen rabbits hopping around our picnic blanket! Amstelpark also has a sweet little city farm and ...
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AMSTERDAM
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, ...
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AMSTERDAM
De Bakkerswinkel
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 ...
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UNCATEGORIZED
Our Great Cities!
We were all in the mood for another theme week, so we thought it would be fun to devote an entire week just to our cities! This week we will fill you in on some of our favorite places to go and things to do in each of our five cities (including New York)! Each ...
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