2 Best Sights in Amsterdam-Oost, Amsterdam

Just 9 km (5 miles) south of Amsterdam (about a 45-minute bike ride), the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is a perfect little bike trip out of the city along the Amstel. Pick up the river opposite the Stopera—note that the left bank is quieter, and you can bike past rowers, fishermen, cows, and De Zwaan windmill, with a good view over the water of the Riekermolen windmill where Rembrandt sketched. The village, when you get here, includes quaint churches; the 1614 Portuguese Jewish Cemetery, where Spinoza's family is buried; and the Museum Ouder-Amstel, with exhibits on the surrounding area. If you return down the other side of the river, you'll pass a couple of imposing 17th-century summer houses, including the Wester-Amstel ( Amsteldijk-Noord 55, open April through October) with an outside sculpture garden.

The country's largest ethnographic museum was first built to educate the Dutch about their colonial history in the East and West Indies, but today it excels in hands-on exhibits covering all non-Western cultures. A gorgeous tiered atrium is rich with wood, marble, and gilt, and displays many, many pieces of antiquity, art, and musical instruments made accessible through workshops and in playful, simulated villages and bazaars, which convey the full sensory experience of life in the former Dutch Indies, the Middle East, India, Africa, and Latin America. There's also a park-facing patio where you can enjoy globally inspired food from the café.

At the Tropenmuseum Junior, children can experience other cultures through programs involving art, dance, song, and sometimes cooking. There are weekend activities such as drawing, building, and crafts for toddlers and preschoolers and their parents in the Kartini Wing. For preschoolers and over, there are special children's routes through the museum and events on Wednesday afternoon and holidays. Most children's activities are in Dutch.