Both of these are canal homes, done in similar time period decor. Will have 7yom& 10yo w/me, so they will probably enjoy seeing one, but more than that might be pushing it for attention spans. Both are girls & pretty mellow kids, so I'm not concerned about behavior. Just which would you choose & why. Or why you wouldn't go to one. (Might turn out to be exactly why we want to go there )
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
Both are lovely - interior and exterior. Although the Van Loon had the Children's Portraits exhibit (not sure if it's still happening). My nieces are mellow, well-behaved and close to that age, but I just would not bring them to either. Even the gardens, while beautifully landscaped, seem like they would hold zero interest for kids. However, neither is a place that you would spend multiple hours visiting, so if you are just looking for a quick pop-in/pop-out for 1 hour, then either will do. But if it were me, I'd take them to some small, off-beat place like the KattenKabinet or De Poezenboot, Brilmuseum, Houseboat Museum, etc.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
We visited the WH House and enjoyed it but I agree that it may be of little interest to the children. The "Lord In The Attic" Museum was more interesting than we expected. In addition, it is a fine opportunity to see the interior of some very old A'dam homes and would be kid friendly. Zaanse Schans would be a great visit for the kids-cheese making, wood shoe carving, and animals. If there is enough wind the windmills will be up and running. On our visit there was not enough wind but the tour of the lumber mill was interesting. The oldest wooden house (painted black) in Amsterdam is located in the Beguinhof and that area is worth a visit. If you plan to visit the Anne Frank House be sure to book tics ahead online --I think your daughters would enjoy this and it can be seen in less than an hour.
Posted by
OP
Silicon Valley
17 posts
We will for sure have to check out De Poezenboot, I'm sure my girls will love that. Will play it by ear on the canal house then. Normally, I'd agree that places like that would have 0 interest for a kid. But my kids LOVE all those HGTV shows, so I think it might interest them. I'm being pretty selective in the museums we are attending. Not even going to the Riks, but per their request, will hit Van Gogh, (they study him in school). I know adults gets numb to all the museums, churches & castles, so I can imagine it's worse for kids. Most days we are doing something "historical/touristy" in the AM & then spending the afternoon at a park or something very kid oriented. Holland, in particular, has a lot of great playgrounds, parks & kids hands-on museums. It's a MUCH different trip then I've ever taken in Europe (this is my kids first international adventure, but I used to go every year.) It's been fun to research & plan from the perspective of a family. It's also interesting to me how little information there is out there for families. I've been lucky, in that I know people in areas & have gotten lots of good feedback from them. I suspect when I get to places, I will find out even more. Thanks so much!
Jill
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33881 posts
Jill,
I don't have my Amsterdam books out at the moment so can't remember the name of it but several years ago we enjoyed very much climbing all over the reconstructed Dutch East India Company ship near the shipbuilding museum near Nemo. All of those were fun for us wrinklies and I'm sure that they would be fun for you and the kiddoes.
Posted by
Albany
161 posts
The Kattenkabinet is one of my favorite museums. Cats strewn on over-stuffed chairs and sofas, paintings and sculptures of cats on three floors, a small gift table at the entry/exit.