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From H.G., Rye, NY

My husband and I recently took our eleven-year-old daughter and six-year-old son to Amsterdam for four days (our trip also included some time in Paris. It was a fantastic trip and I would highly recommend the city for families. There’s so much to see and do.

We stayed at the Ambassade (Herengracht 335-353; 31-20-555-0222), which we loved. It’s a centrally located hotel in the Nine Little Streets area, with just sixty-four rooms. We were in a suite on the top floor, overlooking the canal, so there was a great big living room and lots of space. But the best part about the hotel was the concierge who could not have been more helpful. For instance, she was able to get us tickets for all the museums, including the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum and Rembrandt House, and print them for us right at reception. That way we never had to stand on line anywhere.

I have to say perhaps the biggest find for the kids, another Ambassade concierge recommendation, was TunFun (under Visserplein near Waterlooplein; 31-20-689-4300), an underground playground in a former tunnel under the city. It’s a huge space with different play areas, including trampolines and a giant chess set, and there are things to do for very young children as well as older ones. Best of all, it was totally local; I didn’t see a single other tourist. We have good friends who live in Amsterdam, and when we told them we had been to TunFun, they could not believe it. Be warned: it’s a bit gritty—it is a former tunnel, after all—so don’t expect a sterile playground. Also, I would go before 3 p.m. when the local schools let out.

The absolute highlight of the trip however, was the dinner cruise with Classic Boat Dinners (31-20-3301910 ; www.classicboatdinners.nl). The dinner consists of four courses, and each is prepared by a different hotel along the canals, so in the course of one meal, you end up tasting a lot of different, very good food. You’re given a menu upon boarding—there’s a special kids’ menu, too—and then the captain calls in your order and you’re off along the canals, docking occasionally at hotels, where they bring the food to the boat. The hotels we stopped at were the InterContinental Amstel, the Dylan, Hotel l’Europe and Zuid Zeeland. The kids got their food at the first stop and then dessert later on. They were totally entertained by the fact that we were on a boat, so the adults were able to have a really nice meal with Champagne and good wine. The captain, too, was fabulous: incredibly knowledgeable about the city.

Other places I would highly recommend: the Van Gogh Museum, where I would start the tour by watching the short, incredibly insightful film they show downstairs. It gives you a great overview…in fact, when I suggested we leave after spending some time in the special exhibit that focused on van Gogh’s night scenes, my son said, “No, we have not seen any drawings, and they said there were lots of them here in the movie.” My daughter, meanwhile, was incredibly moved by the Anne Frank Huis. I had given her an abbreviated version of the diary, so she had an idea of the story, and I think being in that space and seeing the actual diary was a powerful experience.

My son, meanwhile was fascinated how drivers parallel-park their cars along the canals, many of which don’t have any railings, without ending up in the water. I think he was secretly hoping we would witness a car in the canal.

Besides the river cruise, we only dined out one other evening. It was a restaurant called Casa Di David (Singel 426; 31-20-624-5093), another recommendation from our favorite Ambassade concierge. I had low expectations, since it was billed as a family-friendly pizza place, but it turned out great; it was a good mix of families and couples, and the menu was quite extensive and totally delicious. For lunch one day, we discovered Pâtisserie Pompadour, across from the Rijksmuseum, a bakery and pastry shop that served a nice menu of soups, salad and quiche (the person who recommended the restaurant claimed it’s the best quiche in Europe). Overall, I would say that Amsterdam is a fantastic city for families. It’s small and you can walk everywhere, and there’s tons to see and do with kids.

Read Indagare’s destination report on Amsterdam

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