G-rated Amsterdam

Novotel Amsterdam

Hotel

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Novotel is located near the RAI Congress Center, which makes it a great convention center hotel. My family and I enjoyed the convenience of having the RAI train station within close walking distance. We were always three tram zones away from the city center. The airport was easily (and cheaply - under 3 Euro) accessed via train.With a child in tow, the Novotel was also well suited for our needs. Our room had a comfortable double bed for the parents. A loveseat was folded out for the kid. (Two kids can stay in a room for free.) A minibar was stocked with Pringles and chocolate. There were BBC channels on the television, so we could watch shows in English... or pay to see a movie suitable for th...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 29, 2006

Novotel Amsterdam
Europa Boulevard 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 (20) 5411123

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Pancake Bakery

Restaurant | "The Pancake Bakery"

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I had read several reviews on IgoUgo about the Pancake Bakery that made it sound fabulous, so this is where we chose to eat lunch after a morning visit to the Anne Frank House. The first thing to notice is that its location near this museum can't be beaten. The restaurant opens at 12, so it's a perfect spot for a midday meal with kids. If you didn't know, the pancake is a Dutch creation. You can find pancake houses all over the Netherlands. Americans will discover these pancakes are more like crepes than the flapjacks served in the US because they are very thin. However, everyone will enjoy the marvelous ways Dutch pancakes are served. I never knew there were so many choices! At our ta...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 29, 2006

Pancake Bakery
Prinsengracht 191
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1015
0031 20 625 13 33

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The Anne Frank House and Museum

Attraction | "Anne Frankhuis"

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Every girl I've ever known has read Anne Frank's diary. Every girl I've ever known has been able to relate to the intimate entries of a child just turning into an adult. The smiling face of this child has long been the one that comes to my mind when I think of the horrors of World War II. Though her life was stolen from her in a concentration camp when she fell ill with Typhus, Anne Frank succeeded in giving voice to thousands of others just like her who died at the hands of the Nazis. She is the famous journalist she dreamed of becoming because her diary chronicaled the most human of struggles in the most inhuman of times. I think this museum is a must-see for any person visiting Amst...Read More

Every girl I've ever known has read Anne Frank's diary. Every girl I've ever known has been able to relate to the intimate entries of a child just turning into an adult. The smiling face of this child has long been the one that comes to my mind when I think of the horrors of World War II.

Though her life was stolen from her in a concentration camp when she fell ill with Typhus, Anne Frank succeeded in giving voice to thousands of others just like her who died at the hands of the Nazis. She is the famous journalist she dreamed of becoming because her diary chronicaled the most human of struggles in the most inhuman of times.

I think this museum is a must-see for any person visiting Amsterdam. We arrived shortly after it opened and got into line. Even close to closing, there will be people waiting to get inside. After a little more than a half hour, we reached the ticket window. This is a self-guided tour, but I found it very impactful. The rooms are unfurnished, but the movie pictures Anne pasted on the walls in her bedroom are still there.

My son is 12, and he took his time reading the information that was available. He peeked up the stairs to where Peter Van Pel slept in the attic. Still, I knew it would be hard for him to really absorb what happened to those Jews who had been hidden in these small rooms. Fear is like a ghost in the walls when one remembers why the bookcase was first constructed to hide the stairway leading up to where eight people stayed for two years. Before German occupation in the Netherlands, more than 100,000 Jews lived in Amsterdam. After all was said and done, there were less than 5,000 left.

I think it would be difficult to absorb the solemnity of this place with smaller kids in tow, but pre-teens and teens should be taken here to remember those events in world history that we as people should never allow to repeat. Older people who have problems with mobility might have a hard time navigating the narrow stairs up. They are almost as steep as a ladder.

There's a very nice bookstore upon exit from the home's rooms. There is also a small cafe. More information is available on the museum's website: www.annefrank.org Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 29, 2006

The Anne Frank House and Museum
Prinsengracht 267
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1016 GV
+31 20 556 71 00

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The Amsterdam Dungeon

Attraction

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If you've been to the dungeon in London, you'll find the dungeon in Amsterdam to feel very familiar. They're run by the same folks. However, I made a deal with my 12-year-old. I got to tour the Rembrandt House without hearing his complaints. HE got this attraction without hearing MY complaints. The moral of this story? Be careful of the deals you make with pre-teens. In truth, this is an okay thing to wile away a couple of hours... especially if it's raining. But under no circumstances should you be under the illusion that this has anything to do with culture. While the dungeon is based loosely around the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition that befell on the Netherland...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 29, 2006

The Amsterdam Dungeon
Near Dam Square, Rokin 78
Amsterdam 1012

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Amsterdam Canal Cruises

Attraction | "Canal Bus Tours"

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First, let me say that I purchased tickets for my son and me on a canal bus because I was cold, it was drizzly, and I simply wanted to get from point "A" to point "B" without having to figure out the right tram to get onto. This strategy was bound to lead to disappointment. This is how it went down. I forked over my 17 Euro for adult and 11 Euro for the 12-year-old. I got my tickets. I was told, "The next canal bus will be at this stop in one hour." Uh... WHAT? Well, I was rather disheartened, and this was the first morning. I didn't realize how close everything in the city center really is. I should have simply hoofed it to some other place that I might have found inte...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 29, 2006

Amsterdam Canal Cruises

Amsterdam

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NEMO

Attraction

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Nemo is an interactive science museum in Amsterdam that proved to be my kid's favorite attraction in the Netherlands. Hands down. He loved it. And while the cost of the tickets can add up at 11.50 Euro a pop, you'll get plenty of bang for your buck if you spend the time you'll need to see everything. In fact, the adults will get tired long before the children. What type of exhibits are here? Exhibits that you can TOUCH. For instance, there was a room where a woman had supposedly met an untimely end. We were supposed to play the part of a modern "Sherlocke Holmes" and find DNA markers to compare to the suspects. Then we learned how DNA factors into the unique ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 30, 2006

NEMO
Oosterdok 2
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1011 VX
+31 900 919 11 00

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Zaanse Schans

Attraction

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The Netherlands is a beautiful country. It is also a fairly small place. It takes no time at all to leave the city behind you and find a land of wooden shoes and windmills. As touristy as it might sound, we wanted to do just this thing, and Zaanse Schans is only 20 minutes via train from the Central Station in Amsterdam. You can take a tour if you'd like, which will set you back about 20 Euro per person. We took the train, which was under 15 Euro for ALL our tickets including the return trips. We simply got off at our stop and had a five minute walk from the station to a pleasant afternoon.Zaanse Schans still uses its windmills. We peeked into the one used to ground must...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 30, 2006

Zaanse Schans

Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Rembrandthuis

Attraction

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Rembrandt is one of the most famous artists in the world, so it is understandable that Amsterdam is proud to claim him as a former local. He lived for many years in an absolutely stunning house in the predominantly Jewish quadrant of the city sometimes referred to as the "Jews' Corner." As was pointed out to me on our canal bus tour, Rembrandt was not Jewish, so the choice of his neighborhood can be seen as an example of how religious tolerance was prevalent in the Amsterdam of his day. (Rembrandt was more interested in the quality of the real estate than in the religion of his neighbors.)Now, I have to say this museum will not be all that interesting for children, but teenagers might ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 30, 2006

Rembrandthuis
Jodenbreestraat 4
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1011 NK
+31 20 520 04 00

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De Hoge Veluwe National Park

Attraction

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An easy day-trip from Amsterdam, the De Hoge Veluwe National Park has a lot to offer to any family visiting the Netherlands. A friend of mine suggested we take our kids (2, 7, 9, and 13 years old) there to check it out. I am so glad that she did! With 5,000 hectares of varied landscape to offer us, we found the park between Arnhem, Ede, and Apeldoorn. We easily drove to the entrance via Hoenderloo by typing 188243 into our GPS system. (Don't you just LOVE those things!) After you park, you can buy tickets for the art museum (an extra 7 euros per adult, 3.50 per child under 12) in the center of the park as well as pay for entry to the park itself. Both my friend and I love the w...Read More

An easy day-trip from Amsterdam, the De Hoge Veluwe National Park has a lot to offer to any family visiting the Netherlands. A friend of mine suggested we take our kids (2, 7, 9, and 13 years old) there to check it out. I am so glad that she did!

With 5,000 hectares of varied landscape to offer us, we found the park between Arnhem, Ede, and Apeldoorn. We easily drove to the entrance via Hoenderloo by typing 188243 into our GPS system. (Don't you just LOVE those things!)

After you park, you can buy tickets for the art museum (an extra 7 euros per adult, 3.50 per child under 12) in the center of the park as well as pay for entry to the park itself. Both my friend and I love the work of Vincent Van Gogh, so the museum was a must. Once a part of a private collection, the paintings here are amazing. Kids are given a sheet with parts of a painting they "scavenger hunt" for as they walk up and down the halls. They will like the modern works on display though my friend's daughter kept exclaiming as she saw certain pieces -blocks littered across the floor, a video of a man's face as he screamed into a fan, dots on a canvas- "They call this art?!?" Out of the mouths of babes...

Any parent who wants to teach their kids about some of the masters will find plenty of opportunity here though.

Walk from the dark brown and black canvases that Van Gogh painted of people in the countryside in the Dutch style before he discovered the light and color that explode off the canvases he composed in France. Look closely at art by Picasso and explain how he filtered the world through an artist's eye. Wander the sculpture garden and discuss this different kind of art form.

If you don't have kids in tow, linger longer, but we took an hour.

Afterwards, grab one of the 1,700 white bikes littered around the park. This is why you are visiting the De Hoge Veluwe. You can take advantage of the miles and miles of bike trails that will take you through forests and by sand dunes. Yes, that's right. Sand dunes. At times the terrain here looks like a desert! Very, very cool.

If the kids need a break from pedaling, go to the "underground museum" near the visitor center. All of our kids loved this tactile learning experience. They peered through holes in the floor to see fox cubs in burrows, worms in the earth, and all kinds of other things. They liked the reprieve from the sun...and they didn't realize it was all educational!

This was one of the nicest experiences I had in the Netherlands. From riding the bikes, having a picnic, looking at art, everything felt so.... Dutch. A must-do if you can swing it.

Need more info? Go to www.hogeveluwe.nl and choose the English option at the top. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on July 18, 2007

De Hoge Veluwe National Park
Houtkampweg 6
Amsterdam, Netherlands

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IgoUgo

Amsterdam Journals

G-rated Amsterdam

Novotel Amsterdam

Pancake Bakery

The Anne Frank House and Museum

The Amsterdam Dungeon

Amsterdam Canal Cruises

NEMO

Zaanse Schans

Rembrandthuis

De Hoge Veluwe National Park

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