Amsterdam Neighborhood Input - Plantage, de Pijp, Haarlemmerbuurt

Safety is a non-issue (provided normal awareness warranted in any big city in Europe) in any of the locations. None is a bad area or near some seedy spot.

Plantage and Nieuwe Pijp are pleasant residential areas. Haarlemmerbuurt is a low-income-turned-around area. It has an elevated railway nearby and is the older of three.

You will find mid-size supermarkets near the Plantage and Nieuwe Pipj locations. The Haarlemmerbuurt is a bit clustered with smaller and more expensive food shops and restaurants.

All three locations are in the periphery of the "belt" that encircles almost all major attractions in Amsterdam. You can easily move around with trams/subway from Plantage location, offering quick options to many places. The Nieuwe Pijp location is within short walking distance to Museumplein and not far from Leidseplein. Haarlemmerbuurt is close to the Jordaan area, but is the one that will take most time to get elsewhere.

If it were up to me, having kids and senior people around, I'd pick either Plantage or Nieuwe Pijp, because they offer more transportation alternatives (other than taxis).

I'd go for the de Pijp location over the other two for the convenience factor. It's a perfectly fine area to stay with kids and seniors - you are near the park for the kids, Albert Cuypmarkt is close by and has lots of butchers and produce stalls to pick up items to cook for dinner. There are Albert Heijn supermarkets scattered all over the city (including several not too far from Sarphati) and also consider a stop at the Marks & Spencer when you are out sightseeing - it's not within walking distance of de Pijp, but is great for picking up prepared foods and snacks that are a notch above Albert Heijn. You'll find plenty of restaurants and shops around de Pijp, easy access to the trams - and if everyone is fairly mobile, not a bad walk to some major sights.

We stayed in the De Pijp area in 2012 and loved it. (we were a little south and west of Sarphaitpark on Van Hilligaerstraat just down the road from the Savoy hotel). There are 2 tram lines in the area. One will go right by the park and goes to Centraal station passing many tourist sites on the way. The other has stops a couple block west of the park- Ferdinand Bolstraat- and goes from the bus station north to the other major train station in Amsterdam passing the museum area on the way. We also walked to many things we wanted to see (but we love to walk). Our favorite bakers was on the corner of Ferdinand Bolstraat just down the road from you, but there were lots of places to eat in the area.

Of course, I have never stayed in the other 2 areas, so cannot compare (although Andre did a good job on that). I can only say that we enjoyed de Pijp and would stay in that area again when and if we return. (In our case, we chose that are because we were on a strict budget. I found a room in a private home for 60 euros a night).

De Pijp is close to stores , public transport and the main market ( Albert Cuijp ). Sarphati park is a nice park that has a playground which may be nice for the children . And plenty of benches for the supervising adult .