A Winter Family Getaway in Amsterdam

Amsterdam may be at its most beautiful in spring and summer when flowers seem to bloom everywhere, but family travelers will enjoy visiting in the winter, too. Kids love the canals filled with boat traffic and will want to begin a trip with a canal boat tour.

As they drift along these watery streets, they will be charmed by the tall narrow houses, some barely one room wide, with stair-stepped and curving gables. To satisfy their curiosity about how people live in these, you can tour Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder, a canal house museum, where they can explore the warren of tiny furnished rooms, peek into the cupboards and climb the steep, narrow stairways.

If they’re curious about the houseboats they see along the canals, they can tour one of these, too. The Houseboat Museumis a fully furnished example of life on board one of the many floating homes in Amsterdam. Visitors can even stop and enjoy a drink and snack in the comfortable parlor.

At NEMO Science Museum, kids discover mathematics in the world around them, generate electricity on a bicycle, build a dam to harness water, capture energy from light and wind, become logistics experts, and explore outer space in its five floors of interactive exhibits. Amsterdam Royal Zoo holds more than 750 species, from lions to penguins. On cold days, visitors can warm up in the butterfly garden or the aquarium after visiting the outdoor habitats.

For outdoor fun, join local families in one of their favorite winter sports, ice skating. Outside Rijksmuseum, IceAmsterdam is open November–February. Amsterdam boasts another giant skating rink in Rembrandtplein. You can rent skates at either rink.