Poring rain Amsterdam with teen. Massive c**k up holiday.

[Amsterdammit]

Hello, we’ve had too much going on as a family are v v stressed. Worried so much about hol and heat with pale lonely teen that In a moment of anxiety booked Amsterdam which was insanely expensive and now it will be pouring all week.
Please please if anyone has any nice restaurants, cafes, museums anything at all they can recommend.Teen is into science and computers, hates art, hates museums, we are happy, I mean desperate, and can hop on a train for a day trip. what were we thinking?! Just so desperately wanted a nice break for teen and now think we’ve cocked up desperately.

Nemo...it's a science and tech exhibition geared towards children and teenagers. Interesting building too.

Bit of a tourist trap, but how about dinner at the Sea Palace floating restaurant biggest in Europe.

Rotterdam: interesting architecture, especially the cube house.

When are you going? It doesn’t look rainy all week to me.

There is a good graffiti museum called STRAAT or something. Ours aren’t into art but found it cool.

Pouring down here in London, if that's any consolation! I'm sorry I can't help recommend anywhere for you. Good luck x

Tourist boat trip on the river or canals
There are fast trains to lots of cities in Belgium and northern Germany

Also there is a website with lots of sports activities listed so standup paddle boards on the canals etc. Just Google sports in Amsterdam

Sports bars will show local football or F1 depending when you are there

The film museum is more of a chill out space with interactive exhibits than a museum per se, and a bit tech-y. There's a nice big cafe with picture windows over the river, you can watch the rain!

A boat cruise is a good idea too, the tourist ones are covered.

As teens (12 & 14 iirc) my ds' greatly enjoyed the torture museum. Dh took them whilst I looked at handbags!

They also enjoyed the science museum, can't remember the name but maybe the one mentioned earlier

Have you been before? I haven't been for years but I do remember falling over nice places to eat, coffee shops and so on.
There's a big flea market somewhere which I think is covered it at least you can browse under the canopies!

Is he sporty at all? You can surf in the rain at Zandvoort or there are lots of wireline waterski places. The Tikibad is one of the biggest indoor waterparks in Europe.

The boat tour of Rotterdam harbour is seriously geeky and great. The Military Museum at Soesterburg is really good. It would be a full daytrip (use 9292.nl to plan the route). Den Helder Naval museum has a full size submarine you can go round.

If it's only showery, the Efteling theme park has plenty of bits inside. Arnhem zoo has manatees and zoos are also ok if it's showery.

Don’t really understand the issue

don’t think anyone goes to Amsterdam for the weather - but for everything else? Will be lovely.

lots of ideas above

I have not been but a museum called Micropia is on my list and looks like it would be interesting for a teen interested in science!
www.micropia.nl/en/

If they like tech and infrastructure, then Port of Rotterdam is a 45 minute train journey away, has a visitor centre and is well worth a visit. I realise Europe's largest container port is not a traditional day out! But it is actually very interesting.

Can you get a day trip to a theme park like Efteling?

Nemo musuem, we all absolutely loved it can spend hours there, my dc younger but enjoyed it and myself and dh did also.

An hour ish away is amazing theme park your teen would enjoy (we adore it as adults) called efteling.

I would definitely get a train somewhere else in mainland Europe from Amsterdam, lots of places easily accessible even for the day as you mention.

Amsterdam is pretty dire (unless you're there for museums, weed or sex) and the rain is going to make it miserable. The best things for the average tourist are the museums and they won't want to do those as you say they hate them. The canals are no different to UK canals in cities. Not really a lot to do other than shopping and nothing amazing about that. Maybe you could look up some gaming cafes.

I agree with this and will go against the grain of previous posters as I think touring a city in the rain is pretty miserable if you aren’t fussed for museums. Can you change the dates at all?

The food Hall is really good in Amsterdam - it's a little south of the centre and inside

Oh no!!! I really feel for you! Sounds like you desperately needed a break and know it's expensive too.

It might not rain all the time but be showery.

Went there in Feb with 2 teen boys and loved it but we just kind of wandered around and ate in nice restaurants.

We did go on the boat to the graffiti place but my boys like that sort of stuff. Yougest wanted to see where Anne Franc's house was and we went there and looked from the outside.

Jordan was the lovely area we found and nice cafes & restaurants.

My boys found it fascinating to look around the red light district!

Really hope you find something to do. Is your hotel fixed? Wondering if you could get a train somewhere else and change the booking?

I assume you're going to AMS this weekend? Yes , its rainy (I'm in NL) but its not heavy rain atm and still reasonably warm. You will still be able to wander around - yes, your photos might look a bit miserable - but you will get a feel of the place etc. If you're desperate to go somewhere with the teen to escape the rain then Naturalis in Leiden is great (plus you escape the heavily touristed AMS)!

I think we might have very similar families :)

You can hire an electric boat and navigate around the canals. I defy anyone not to be moved by the Anne Frank House ( book in advance). Have an Indonesian Rjstafel. Go to the Artis (zoo) and the nearby Tropisch Museum (science). Get the train to Zandvoort and see the F1 track. Tour the Ajax Stadium. Trains to Leiden, Delft, The Hague, Haarlem. Albert Cypt market. Heineken Tour. And lots of chips with mayonnaise and sate saus.

Do an escape room! 😍

The maritime museum in Rotterdam is good too. There's also a giant gnome clutching a butt plug to look out for. The water taxis are fun and they have floating hottub boats so you can pootle round the mariner in your bikini with a glass of wine (google hottug, maybe not with a teenager though!)

Amsterdam is an amazing city, even in the rain. It's just not Rome or Venice where everything is served on a plate for a selfie so requires some curiosity and imagination.

a little word of caution about the Efteling suggestion. I stayed there for a few days enjoyed it as an adult with a small child. But it was certainly billed towards the young child market I thought - didn’t see many families with teens there and can only really rem one properly scary rollercoaster and everything else was quite tame and cute and fairy tale like. swan rides and toadstool cottages and carousels etc.

I was about to suggest both Nemo and the Sea Palace. Great minds!

Also Jammin sweet shops, de Hallen/foodhallen, tonton clubs if he likes gaming, Albert cuyp market for poffertjes, the lego store is pretty good...