Kids in Amsterdam
 

We're taking our 6 and 11 year old girls to Amsterdam in August for 4 days. Any ideas for sightseeing with the kids? Kid-friendly hotels?

Take them to the Holland Experience show - great fun - and on a canal cruise. Other suggestions: visit the candy section of the department store (De Bijenkorf?), the Van Gogh museum and, maybe briefly, the Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank statue at the Westerkirk, and walk over a "Van Gogh" drawbridge. Perhaps they'd enjoy visiting the riding school, if you can find it.

Take time (go very early in the day to avoid long lines) to see the Anne Frank museum. When the girls are older and read the book, it will give them a wonderful visual reference. Skip the Rijksmuseum if you have to choose. Be sure at a restaurant to try the "pancakes". They're a meal in themselves.

In preparation for our trip, I am reading Anne Frank's diary to my 6 and 8 year old daughters. They love it! And, I think that it will help them appreciate the sights so much more. We'll see!

We stayed with our kids at the Estherea hotel which is very nice. Definitely go to the Anne Frank house and get there early, as the line to get in an be long. We also visited the Van Gogh museum and enjoyed it (rent the head sets). One day it rained so we hopped on the museum canal boat. You can hop on and off all day. There's also a guide on the boat that gives a tour. We also visited the jewish quarter and went to the old porteguese synagogue (i think the oldest in europe).