virginiafish they are in Belgium and missypie is asking about the Netherlands. She only has 5 days so adding that would seriously bite into her time here.

Hire a car and visit the province of Friesland, little places like Stavoren, Hindelopen, Makkum.

And - like hetismij told you before - drive back along de Afsluitdijk. If you've time left, you might visit Enkhuizen, Medemblik and Hoorn as well. Check if there is a fancy fair (very crowed).

Don't go to Volendam (to touristic). And most of the red business in the Red Light District in Amsterdam (where I live) is closed by city laws. Two days in Amsterdam (including Van Gogh Museum, some canal houses, lots of walking of cycling) would be enough.

Have a nice trip.

Allright, this is probably a total minority opinion.
But if you want to wow your kids (after a trillion tulips, windmills, and grachten huisjes) take them to Rotterdam.
Arts, architecture, Europe's biggest port. Quite impressive and quite a contrast to the little quaint towns.
http://www.rotterdam.info/cms.php?cmspageid=12&langid=2

Okay, I know you won't go there. ;-)

If you need another quaint town for the list: Gouda.
I also liked Zwolle.

I'd go to Rotterdam too Cowboy, modern architecture, shopping, ports, museums.

PeaceOut: <i>LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Amsterdam! You always hear of the Red Light district and the coffee shops and the laissez-faire attitude, but you don’t hear how open and friendly the people are, how lovely the canals and side streets, how wonderfully trendy the restaurants and cafes, how people are out strolling at all hours of the night and you feel safe everywhere.</i>

This.

Exploring European cities and towns on foot has long been one of our favorite activities, and A-dam is easily in our top-5 list for walking cities. There's something enchanting around every corner in the canal-ring area, and much of the Jordaan.

People who never venture from the Sodom-and-Gomorrah-meet-Disneyland zone have no idea what they're missing.

sorry, thanks for the correction hetismij.

By the way.. since you are quite a bunch of people, have you thought about renting an apartment instead of staying at a hotel and pay for 2-3 rooms?
One A'dam specialty would be houseboats for rent. If you google that you'll get a number of companies and individuals who rent boats.

As it got mentioned somewhere above, the legal age for buying beer and wine is 16 in NL, 18 for liquor, 18 also for entering coffee shops (as long as it's still legal for non-NL residents).

The Red Light District is far from being Sodom and Gomorrha. It may offer a certain "thrill" for visitors who come from jurisdictions where prostitution is not legal. But I don't think that most adults need more a 15min stroll through the area to get a bit bored.

Post WWII Dutch architecture sucks, especially Rotterdam which was leveled to dust by the Luftwaffe and rebuilt by nut cases to something on the order of Frankfurt or NYC. It is an industrial port city with a lot of crime due to the large number of North African immigrants. I can't think of a city in Europe that would be less attractive to an American family out to see the culture of Europe.

I also loved Amsterdam and hope to return and rent an apartment for several weeks. One of my 5 must dos in the Netherlands is to eat stroopwafels, especially freshly made.Yum!

Yes, we are renting an apartment. We do that whenever we can. If I had had more time to plan, I would have been able to find a houseboat to fit us all.

spaarne.. that was exactly what I expected!

You Americans are too fascinated by the old stuff LOL

But that's just fine. No one is forced to go to any place, let alone like any place.

But our culture is not limited to the old ages. That is only part of the "culture of Europe".
How the Dutch dealt with the aftermath of WWII is obviously an important part of their culture, and how the city re-invented itself a few years ago.
And Rotterdam is probably now more "typical of Dutch culture" than Edam or Delft. The latter are deep-frozen showcases of the old ages, very beautiful and worth every trip, but more or less meaningless for the 21st century Netherlands (except for tourism).

Another "there is no windmill, this ain't Holland" sight would be the Oosterschelde barrier and the whole system of barriers in South Holland.
www.deltawerken.com
But you can at least take the virtual tour ;-)

Cowboy1968, when you come to the US, you should visit Dallas. I never know what to tell tourists to do (other than see the Kennedy sites)..I usually say "go to Ft. Worth." But it sounds like you would appreciate our commerce/restaurant/retail offerings.

missypie,
After I read your comment, I HAD to look up the Dallas Tourist info website. The only thing I ever associated with Dallas had been, as you said, the Kennedy sites and Southfork Ranch.
I am not pulling your leg, but I had no clue whatsoever that you had such a ton of (open air) arts and great museums there.
I'd definetely see the Meadows Museum and the Dallas Arts Museum, do the Arts Walk and see the diffent memorials (just the idea/concept of the Police Memorial is amazing). I also liked the way these sites are presented on that ArtsWalk website, i.e. how much effort and creativity had been at work.
Besides that I also liked the Dallas Heritage Village, the Arboretum, and the Aquarium - at least from what I could see on the websites.


By suggesting Rotterdam I did not mean to force anyone there. Or say that it would be a better or more elitist destination than A'dam, Delft, or Keukenhof. It's simply another shade of Holland than can be interesting for some, but not for others.

Just saying that there is nothing to do or see in Rotterdam is indeed like saying that there was nothing in Dallas.

I'm in A'dam right now on a very impromptu 2 day venture. The people are supremely nice, and every moment yesterday and today has just been pure joy. Back in the hotel room at them moment taking a short break after going to the Anne Frank Huis just before it closed, it was almost surreal being in that place after after a lifetime of total fascination of that moving story. My 22 year old was actually moved to tears during the tour.

Food here seems a mixed bag - there is every cuisine imaginable and tons of it. We had street food for lunch today - a cornet each of vlaamse frites with mayo, catsup and onions added to a chicken doner from a couple doors down. Last night we had some of the most delicious Thai we've ever had at a little place on our street. Oh, and please don't miss a place here that my son saw written up in NYT called BurgerMeester. There are three locations, and to get a real overview of the place, they offer a sampler plate of three minis for 11€ - so totally worth it - be adventurous.

I'm far more impressed with the city than I dreamed I'd be. Already thinking of coming back next year, getting a flat and staying a while. :)

"I can't think of a city in Europe that would be less attractive to an American family out to see the culture of Europe."

Absoulutely not true or fair! Many Americans, including me, travel to see new architecture. I loved Rotterdam and have met many people here in the States who feel the same.

If I said, "the only thing that Europeans want to see in the US is cactus and Las Vegas!" Would you agree?

<i>LSky on Jun 8, 11 at 9:42pm
"I can't think of a city in Europe that would be less attractive to an American family out to see the culture of Europe."
If I said, "the only thing that Europeans want to see in the US is cactus and Las Vegas!" Would you agree?</i>

They wouldn't make my top 40.

Right Cowboy1968...we've seen the huge engineering project to keep the seas from flooding the lowlands, i.e., a storm surge from the North Sea. Notable for ideas about how nations might prevent flooding. I'm thinking maybe folks from Louisiana visited this: http://www.deltaworken.com/English/10.html

Bill in Boston

If you are going from mid-April to first week of May (give or take) you GOTTA SEE the tulips.

I have a few of my photos online now (still working on sorting).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalk...69216168/show/

OP is going in July.

Thanks for the photos, flygirl...including lots of tulips. Fields of bright blooms...also Keukenhof? Yes indeed, we were in Holland the last April into May two years ago.

Bill in Boston

Madurodam is a really cool place. I loved Zaanse Schans. Yes, it is rather touristy, but a very cute and quaint little "village", and the views across the water are beautiful. It's about a 40 min train ride and a 10 min (or so) walk. A very enjoyable excursion. My other choices would be right in line with the list already posted by others. Have a great trip.

Years ago, I went to Europe with a guy who was raised in Germany. He insisted that we go to Maduordam because he had fond childhood memories of it. I really don't get the appeal of attractions like that. Maybe if the kids were younger.

Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone!

May I suggest the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen and Enkhuizen itself for a daytrip? The Museum has an outdoor museum village where you can see how people lived before the Zuider Zee was closed of in the late 1920s and became IJsselmeer. Enkhuizen used to be a shipping hub for the merchant fleet during the Dutch Golden Age and the evidence of this can still be seen in the city. If you come early you can take a boat across the IJsselmeer to Stavoren, on the Frisian coast.

<i>Posted by: missypie on May 23, 11 at 6:48am
We are a famiy of 5 - "kids" ages 20, 18 and 15. The kids like museums well enough, but we'll need to iimit them to the best of the best. </i>

Try the Global Hemp Museum on the Spaarne in Haarlem. It is unique. Your kids are about the right age for that one.