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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Amsterdam - I'd like to take my 6yo

39 replies

frugalfuzzpig · 10/02/2014 21:08

DD is completely obsessed with Van Gogh and so a trip would be a dream come true if we could go to the museum.

I've never been though and lots of people have told me there are lots of, um, unsavoury areas?!

It would just be a short break as we can't really afford a big holiday, it could be just us two or up to 8 of us depending if DSCs want to come (one DSD was enthralled by Anne Frank and apparently the house is there?)

Any tips please? How to get there, other things to do etc?

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Rosvita · 10/02/2014 22:48

Plenty of cheap flights available and easy to get from schipol airport to city centre by train.yes Anne franks house is there, Van Gogh museum and also Rembrant museum.queues for Anne Frank get ridiculous but think you can buy tickets in advance for prebooked time and avoid queues.We have been 3 times both pre and post kids but never taken them with us.not personally somewhere I would want to take the kids until they're a lot older. As you said plenty of
seedy areas, and although I guess you could avoid the red light district etc there's still no avoiding all the high people walking around the streets at all times of day.When we were there last there was some guy obviously hallucinating or something and shouting out into the air at nothing - freaked me out a bit!
Vondelpark and Madame Tussaud's would be other child appropriate places too.

PortofinoRevisited · 10/02/2014 22:53

You can easily avoid the red light district which is concentrated mostly in one place. My recommendation would be to stay in Leiden and get the train into Amsterdam (30 mins) for the day. Pre-book for Anne Frank House. Go to to see the Van Goghs and the flower market and have a wander round the canals.

Rosvita · 10/02/2014 23:44

portofino yes good idea to stay actually outside of Amsterdam. frugalfuzzpig didn't mean to put a downer of your plans and I know from lots of previous threads on here that other posters have taken their kids to Amsterdam - just it's not for me!

Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 08:46

No that's fair enough, it was something I was worried about. I'd not have thought of going at all TBH if it weren't for the Van Gogh thing. A friend also said maybe it'd be better to go while she's young and pretty much oblivious to things? Maybe. Hard to say as I've never been myself.

So do you think flying is better than boat/train? The latter would take longer but would be more of an adventure I guess. DCs have only been abroad once before.

Thanks for the recommendation for Leiden - I would definitely prefer to stay outside the City and maybe just visit for one day.

The other thing I was concerned about is, isn't cannabis legal? I hear cafés are full of it, or is that an exaggeration...

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Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 08:49

Ooh vondelpark looks lovely especially the sculptures. She would love the fish one.

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3nationsfamily · 11/02/2014 09:41

The comments above make it sound like Amsterdam is druggy and seedy and it simply is not. Yes, there is a red light district which is easily avoided but it is a wonderful historic city with a distinct character and a fascinating place to visit for all ages.
It is easy to get around either walking or by tram, English is widely spoken , the people are friendly and welcoming and it is full of tourists so geared up to make it easy to find your way around and visit what you are interested in.
Definitely try to pre book the Anne Frank museum although I would say that 8 is too young for it. I would recommend taking a canal boat trip as part of your visit and trying Dutch pancakes (yum!) in one of the many lovely waterside cafes.

You don't say where in the UK you live but I would definitely fly rather than boat as you get more time out of a short break then to spend actually in Amsterdam.
From Leiden there are double decker trains to Amsterdam every 15-30 minutes but it is quite expensive.

feetheart · 11/02/2014 09:58

Mmmm, pancakes :)

Totally agree the 3nationsfamily, Amsterdam is a wonderful friendly city with masses to do and eat. The red light district is small and easily avoided and only certain cafes act as 'coffee shops' and from what I remember were easy to spot and therefore avoid.
The Van Gogh Museum is great, as is the Vondelpark (and the cafe in the centre), the flower market and just walking around looking at the canals and buildings and stopping to eat pancakes.
I would also agree that the Anne Frank house is not appropriate for a 6 yr old.

DH lived there for over 2 years pre-children so I had many weekend jaunts over to see him and loved the city. Will go back with DC at some point.

Your biggest problem will be other people's perception of where you are going but ignore them and have a memorable trip to a lovely city.

tribpot · 11/02/2014 10:10

I've visited Amsterdam many times with my ds. Quite a few MNers live there with their children. Shockingly none of us is the parent of an 8 year old drug fiend as a result :) Cafes aren't full of cannabis - there are coffee shops that sell it but I think you would have to be almost blind to wander into one of them without realising it was a coffee shop, not a cafe. Quite a few of them (Abraxas, for example) are perfectly pleasant places to be, but in any case under 18s are not allowed in. So if you did stumble on one you would be sent on your way at once.

And if it matters, some other Dutch cities have far more disreputable red light districts than Amsterdam, but it hardly matters as you won't be going in any of them!

There is a children's science museum called Nemo not far from Central Station - it does have a bit on sex but this is well signposted and intentionally shielded to make it easy to avoid. A canal boat tour is great, the Rijksmuseum is great for the architecture even if you don't want to look at all the Rembrandts.

My ds loves going over in the 'big boat' but it is very time consuming.

Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 10:16

I didn't know there were trams! DCs would be over the moon at that :o

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Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 10:23

Having caught up with all posts this is sounding better and better. Thanks everyone!

With the Anne Frank house - I wouldn't go I think, if just the four of us went. I expect DD will learn about her in junior school but at the moment she is pretty sensitive and yes, too young I think. We'd go if we take DSDs though, as one DSD was really enthralled by her story and read her full diary even though she found it quite tough. So she would really appreciate it but I guess I'd go somewhere else with the DCs if they visited.

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Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 10:50

We are in Sussex btw, very near gatwick

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WaitingForMe · 11/02/2014 10:59

Amsterdam is probably the most family friendly city I've visited. I'm sure if you take your pearls you'll find opportunity to clutch them but I'd sooner take my kids there than to Nice or Barcelona (two of my favourite cities).

Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 11:03

That's great thanks :)

I have now convinced DH that we should go so we are having a look at flights etc.

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Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 11:06

It's a bit scary though (bear with me - I have a lot of anxiety issues) - just realised we've never actually planned a holiday abroad before! We've only been with my parents.

So much to think about.

Any recommendations for hotels, transport etc would be great :o Thanks

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HavantGuard · 11/02/2014 11:10

It's a lovely place to visit. You can completely avoid the red light district.

The tram is the easiest way to travel from place to place and the Van Gogh museum is brilliant. It would be easy to split up so your DSD can see the Ann Frank house and you and your DD can do something else. The queues to go into the house can be reasonable or HUGE though, so allow plenty of time.

Just keep your eyes peeled for cyclists (they zoom about) and keep some change for the toilets. The tram goes out to the suburbs so if you wanted to you could stay further out and still get around easily.

HavantGuard · 11/02/2014 11:14

You can prepare in advance. I'd buy the Rough Guide so that you can read up beforehand and have it with you if you need it. It will make you feel like you have been there before!

Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 11/02/2014 14:30

Thanks Havant I've requested a few from the library to see what's good :)

Glad that transport seems to be good too, as I forgot to mention neither of us drive. Not sure if my dad would hire a car if they came with us though.

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3nationsfamily · 11/02/2014 14:33

Driving (and parking) in the city is a nightmare. Trams and trains are fab so no need to have a car. Even if you want to explore other places the train service is excellent.

Rosvita · 11/02/2014 18:30

3nations aspects of Amsterdam are though-as smoking cannabis is legal in the designated coffee shops there are more people walking around stoned than say in England.I am not saying it is non-family friendly- I know that there are also lots of family-friendly areas,sights and things to do.
frugalfuzzpig no need to drive over there whatsoever as others have said - tram,cycle,walk,taxi.

Rosvita · 11/02/2014 18:30

And frugal have a good time and enjoy it - beautiful city.

Velma67 · 11/02/2014 18:40

The science museum nemo is brilliant for children. There is also a replica sailing ship at the maritime museum which is great.

If you wanted to consider elsewhere, the Kroller Muller museum has a large Van Gogh collection. It is a little bit north of Arnhem. Arnhem also has the very fabulous Open Air Museum.

RomulanBattleBagel · 11/02/2014 19:37

Sounding better and better! The topic after artists (which is what started DD's love of Van Gogh) was shipwrecks - she is fascinated by them. We are going to the Cutty Sark in half term :o

I know absolutely nowt about the Netherlands, is Arnhem far from Amsterdam? (ie would it be possible to do both)

Original poster
frugalfuzzpig · 12/02/2014 20:00

Oops namechange fail above Blush

Just bumping this as I looked in the diary at work and it looks like I won't be able to take a whole week. My own fault for not booking earlier, I hadn't realised leave would be booked that early (stupid of me really) - haven't actually taken a summer holiday since I've worked there.

So I was wondering does anyone think a few days would be enough? Apparently the flight isn't much more than an hour, so is it possible to do more of a short 'City break' type thing?

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lljkk · 12/02/2014 20:13

I had a blast with just one day walking around. Walked the full park and went to the modern art museum. Lots to do outside, too.
It's easy to avoid the unsavoury areas, not that unsavoury before 4pm, anyway. I didn't notice any cannabis, just a few "cafes" in the high tourist strip, which are obvious doss houses, easy enough to avoid.

This is where I stayed few months ago: no telly in the rooms!? But nice location otherwise. English speaking, wifi, etc.

somedizzywhore1804 · 12/02/2014 20:16

Not read whole thread for this may have come up but me and DH did a "mini cruise" last year from Hulll to Amsterdam. It was insanely cheap- something like £200 for the two of us and it was two nights on the boat and a day trip to Amsterdam- more than enough time to see the VG museum as it's right by the coach drop off. It was great and the boat was fun and meals were included and the food was lovely.

Google P and O mini cruises to Amsterdam.

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