Any advice on where to visit in Amsterdam?

[munchbunch12]

Me, DH and the DC (aged 15 and 8) will be there for 3 entire days in the Spring Bank Holidays. Does anyone have any tips on good value things to do there? We enjoy most things, so will probably go to the Rijkmusuem and Van Gogh Museum, go on a boat tour, visit some of the parks and maybe the Johan Cruijff Arena, but is there anything else that you’d recommend? Also anything to definitely avoid? We won’t have a car with us, so will be on foot or public transport.

Thanks in advance X

Train or bus out to Zaanse Schans is a nice way to get a bit of a feel of (albeit touristy) Dutch life. It has windmills, cheese making, wooden shoes, canals, etc.

I’d recommend the Resistance Museum: www.verzetsmuseum.org/en/expositions-and-activities

It's about the Nazi occupation; and they have a permanent exhibition for children.

As PP said, the trams are great!

Just realised that exhibition won’t be suitable for your younger DC - apologies.

NEMO science centre is fab. You can jump on a train to Utrecht and see the Miffy Bunnies on the traffic lights there and the giant UFO of Inktpot, we loved that, I really enjoy visiting Utrecht when I in Amsterdam, you’ll be fine without a car, it’s all very compact, just take care with the the bikes and trams, it can feel like they come out of nowhere in all directions at times! Brilliant suggestions on here already, have a great time!

Oooh We're staying at the arcade hotel @dogmum93 as we thought the DC would like it, and it's fairly cheap! Hope it's ok, from some of the reviews it sounds like the walls are quite thin!

We got the I am Amsterdam cards. Take a look at those. Transport and a lot of museums plus a boat tour. We did the hidden chuch in the house which was really good. And the tonies chocoloni cafe is a must visit!!!

FEBO sounds like they sell the kind of food we love @EarlyYearsMe !!!

The zoo is great. Apart from the usual animals, they are one of the few zoos in the world to have a whole specialist area devoted to microbes.
Your kids will be fascinated (or revolted!) to look at disease causing bacteria, alive and magnified on giant displays, see the mites that live in all human eyebrows etc. That area is all indoors, so handy on a wet day too.
You might also enjoy eating a rijstafel - because of the links to the old Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) there are fab Indonesian restaurants all over Amsterdam, where you can sample the full 23+ dish spectacular rijstafel. A riot of flavours and textures.
And have some poffertjes off a street stall - tiny puffed up pancakes, dredged with icing sugar or chocolate - yummy.

@Justlovedogs @Elderflower14 Westerkerk looks beautiful ❤️

We love cats @crackofdoom so that sounds great!

That sounds lovely, DD would definitely like it, and me too!

Wow, thanks for all the replies everyone! I know have a long list to think about. And to think I was worried there might not be much there for kids 😆

I recommend the Iamsterdam pass too, we visited so many places we wouldn't have thought of. If you want to get out of the city for the day Mudierslot Castle is fab and Edam is lovely too.

Enjoy, the Netherlands is one of our favourite places!

We booked a package with easyJet who have a sale on at the mo and fly from our local airport.

The cat boat was mentioned.

You also have the Katten Kabinet.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KattenKabinet

The Wondr experience was our favourite morning, the roller disco there is good fun too. And the zoo is brilliant.

Well, I can't say that we noticed anything! The room was lovely and clean and modern and had games consoles in it! And its in a fab location, not too central and not too far out.

Ooo, forgot Wok to Walk for food, assuming you like Chinese. Pick your own combo from their menu and cooked to order in front of you. Several locations and some have seating. DH and I call it Wok to Sit when we eat in. Can also recommend the mixed grill at the Mas y Mar, just off Dam square. They do Argentinian steaks and Italian, too.
Argh! I want to come. Can I hide in your suitcase? Pretty please?

I love Amsterdam. Can recommend the hotel v fizeaustraat, very cool but not intimidating and easy to get into the city centre but nice to be somewhere a bit quieter. Not the cheapest, but for anyone looking.

We really enjoyed the hidden church and though the Anne Frank House was very much worth visiting. We also like the book market on a Friday, nice for a mooch. For food, D&A hummus bistro is great, if you like hummus! It's a great city for just wandering around, though the bit around the centraal Station is the same as most big city stations, a bit uninspiring and toursity. Persevere!

We went pre covid and a great time. This may have changed since covid but Westerkerk church only lets a small group up each hour. We had to go in person early in the day to get tickets for later in the day. Well worth it though. I'd recommend Amsterdam to anyone with kids, it's a great city and so easy to avoid the bits you want to.

@user1019273703 @PrancerandDancer @christmaspudding43 and anyone else who's used IAmsterdam cards, which places are free to get into with the card and which are discounted? I looked at their website and couldn't tell, although that could just be me being rubbish!! Thanks

I haven't used one myself, but on the website, under the section "What is included in the City Card", there's a link to the full list of locations/attractions. If you click on a few at random, it tells you in the individual listing if it's free. Sorry, you've probably already done all that... whether there's an overall list, showing at a glance what is free or just discounted, I don't know. There is with the Rotterdam Welcome Card but maybe this is different.

Thanks @TreesAtSea I couldn't see it when I used edge, but it was fine when I accessed it using Chrome.