Amsterdam with teen

[Celiathebanshee]

I'm taking DD3, aged 16, to Amsterdam for 3 days after her exams. Just the two of us. I've only spent one afternoon there myself previously so I don't have much feel for it! I've booked the van Gogh museum because she will love that. I'm hoping to get tickets for the Anne Frank house but apparently we should have decided we were going months ago as they appear to be sold out. Any top tips and hidden gems anyone can recommend? Things we must see and do? I'm hoping to avoid the red light district, which people here seem to think is something to see

The Jordaan is a lovely area to wander around. Delft and Haarlem are easy day trips; the trains are pretty good and both towns are walkable and have lots to see and do but without the crowds of Amsterdam.

Zaanse Schans.
It's an open air museum with windmills

Do a river cruise

Thanks. Do you think we need to do a trip out - I had expected there to be enough to do in Amsterdam itself to occupy 3 days?
I’m not averse to the idea - just hadn’t expected to have time

Restaurant called Bak, highlight of trip for me and my teen son last year

I don't know Amsterdam at all but I'd agree that with a 3 day trip you don't need extra trips out of the city. Me and my teens easily filled 3 days in Lille which must have less to see than Amsterdam!

For me, Amsterdam is great but after the Anne Frank, the Van Gogh and the Jordaan (the rijksmuseum is rather dry), it's interesting to spend at least one day elsewhere.

I took my teen there in Feb. It was important to me that we avoided the red light district, and we did - it didn't feel difficult to do that but it did probably add more walking time on to things. We went to the Van Gogh museum (ace) and the Anne Frank House, also the zoo. We were there two and a half days. If we'd been prepared to rush about a bit more we could have fit a little bit more in, and would have gone to the Resistance Museum. Part of me wishes we'd done this, but it's important to relax too and soak up the environment in the city. I can't wait to go back. And then I'll be going straight to that museum!

You could go to bodyworld amsterdam and ripleys belive it or not. They are both really central without needing to go near the red light area. Both would probably be fun/interesting with a teenager

@Sherunswithwolves ah, thanks for this. Was it straightforward to figure out which streets to avoid?

If you do manage to get tickets for the Anne Frank House, try buy those with the programme included. It is a half an hour talk before you go into the house itself. It's very moving. There looks to still be tickets for 9th-12th July. Tickets are released six weeks in advance on a Tuesday morning.

Hire bikes, take them on the free ferry and cycle out into Noord and beyond. Much easier cycling than in central Amsterdam proper., which can be a bit cutthroat
Go on the big swing thing at A'dam Lookout.
Order custom chocolate and design the packaging at the Tony's Chocolonley store.
Visit Our Lord in the Attic.
Unpopular opinion, but I think the best art museum is the Stedelijk.

RiverCruise is a very good idea, it’s very informative and a good way to see the city. I would do it at the beginning to see where you want to come back to. Pathe Thushinsky is a lovely ArtDeco cinema. “Wok to walk” is a good and cheap takeaway. There’s plenty of things to see so you don’t need to plan the trips outside of Amsterdam. Jordan is lovely. rijksmuseum is worth a visit and will take best part of the day.

Sadly we hadn’t even decided where we were going 6 weeks ahead. I keep checking back for returns because we would really love to go (weekend of 20/6 if anybody has any good ideas for sourcing tickets!)

The renovated rijksmuseum houses some incredible paintings. The cafe has delicious 17th century cake. It is worth a visit. They are renovating The Night Watch and you can watch the restorers at work.

If she is arty Rembrandts house is really interesting and you can have a go at etching.

The floating flower market is lovely too.

@Decoart she is arty and actually has an interest in art restoration so we will definitely make a point of visiting the night watch. Thanks!

If you want a lovely Dutch town go to Haarlem on the Saturday , only 15 minutes on train, excellent market, upmarket and very nice to walk around, great shops and bars and restaurants - Delft is also lovely and similar but is 40 minutes on train. I really like the Pipj area for bars and cafes and restaurants - it’s pretty ‘urban’ not much greenery but has really nice vibe and again has great and massive street market the weekends- it’s on the metro -

I just searched for it on Google Maps. It seems to be the area called De Wallen below the train station - if this is wrong I will welcome corrections! But I wasn't aware of it at all when we were there.

I wonder if it would be worth contacting the museum and asking if they have a returns system?

I believe they released them on Tuesdays at 10am. I’ll be there this week hitting refresh and hoping

Good luck, and have a great time.

10am in Holland - 9am here!

There is loads to see and do in Amsterdam so you won't have trouble filling three days.
Check out the various discount tickets/transport tickets available, though if not using public transport much it may be cheaper for you to just tap on and off.

Not sure if it's already been mentioned, but the Vondelpark is lovely to walk around and is pretty near the main museum area.

In a different part of the city, on Prinsengracht, is the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. Very easy on the eye and with a nice gift shop.

If a big department store appeals, there's the Bijenkorf on Dam Square; handy for the free toilets on the 5th floor :-) The Royal Palace is on Dam Square too.

As PP have said, the red light district is very easy to avoid as it only covers a couple of streets.

From behind the Central Station, you can get free ferries over to various parts of Amsterdam North/Noord, an up-and-coming area.

Agree that, if you do go further afield, Haarlem would be a great choice. Beautiful city and easy to get to.

Have a wonderful trip.

The Begijnhof is a lovely quiet historical spot in the city for peace & quiet. If she’s interested in modern / street art, NDSM wharf over the IJ can be reached easily (free ferry from behind Amsterdam central station). Albert Cuyp market great for a stroll and street food.

I did keep checking on the Anne Frank House website as I'd not booked far enough in advance and we did manage to get some same day ones for late afternoon.

My kids were 13 and 15 at the time and the thought of Anne being the same age as them when she was hiding in the house had me in tears in the queue. Welling up now thinking about it!