Winter here gets dark by 5pm, so we plan around ice, lights and a few big dates. Dutch kids grow up on skates, and on the rare winters the canals freeze, the whole city heads out on them. Here's what we checked, from laps of the Jaap Eden outdoor track to an early New Year's Eve show for kids who can't make midnight.
An outdoor ice rink on Museumplein, with the Rijksmuseum behind it and the Van Gogh Museum and Concertgebouw close by. Skates come in every size, so first-timers and confident skaters share the same ice. People skated on this square from 1887 to 1937, and the first official world speed skating championship was held here.
Next to the ice, Het Wak serves hot chocolate, lunch and dinner.
A huge winter fair spread through the RAI halls and out onto the square in front. Kids skate on indoor and outdoor rinks (plus a small rink just for under-6s), ride a Ferris wheel and carousels, go down a 10-meter slide, throw fake snow in the snow garden and walk a light trail. A kids' theater runs puppet shows, story readings and a winter circus. Busy and loud at peak times.
Jaap Eden IJsbaan is a 400-meter outdoor ice track where families skate laps together during public hours. First-timers find their feet in the beginners' area with a push-along frame, while confident kids can switch between long-track and figure skates.
Waterman Sport, just inside the gates, rents skates and helmets. The indoor ice hall is for clubs, except over the Christmas holidays.
Electric Fireworks is Amsterdam's New Year's countdown on Museumplein, in front of the Rijksmuseum: a light show, music and eco-friendly fireworks timed to each other, designed for this square.
For families, the draw is Electric Fireworks Junior, an early-evening show with its own countdown, made for kids who can't or won't stay up until midnight. Expect a dense crowd; the last edition drew over 80,000 people across both shows.
Every winter, about 20 light artworks go up in, over and beside the canals of Amsterdam's old center. Families see them two ways: on foot along the route, or from a canal boat.
The festival app has a Kids Walk with fun facts, quiz questions and a scavenger hunt that ends in a small prize. It suits kids happy to be out in the cold after dark.
Once a year, Dutch tulip growers fill Museumplein with a picking garden of 200,000 tulips and open it to anyone. Kids walk the rows and pick their own bunch to carry home in a biodegradable tulip bag.
A dweilorkest, a traditional Dutch street brass band, plays songs like Tulpen uit Amsterdam along the queue. It suits families with patience for a line and kids who like a hands-on job.
Each Lunar New Year, Amsterdam's Chinatown around Nieuwmarkt and the Zeedijk fills with lion and dragon dances, drums, music and street performances through the day.
Kids follow the dancing lions through the crowd, watch the New Year rituals at the Fo Guang Shan He Hua Temple, and can finish with a meal at one of the neighborhood's Chinese restaurants. It suits kids who like noise and crowds more than quiet ones.
Winter here gets dark by 5pm, so we plan around ice, lights and a few big dates. Dutch kids grow up on skates, and on the rare winters the canals freeze, the whole city heads out on them. Here's what we checked, from laps of the Jaap Eden outdoor track to an early New Year's Eve show for kids who can't make midnight.
An outdoor ice rink on Museumplein, with the Rijksmuseum behind it and the Van Gogh Museum and Concertgebouw close by. Skates come in every size, so first-timers and confident skaters share the same ice. People skated on this square from 1887 to 1937, and the first official world speed skating championship was held here.
Next to the ice, Het Wak serves hot chocolate, lunch and dinner.
A huge winter fair spread through the RAI halls and out onto the square in front. Kids skate on indoor and outdoor rinks (plus a small rink just for under-6s), ride a Ferris wheel and carousels, go down a 10-meter slide, throw fake snow in the snow garden and walk a light trail. A kids' theater runs puppet shows, story readings and a winter circus. Busy and loud at peak times.
Jaap Eden IJsbaan is a 400-meter outdoor ice track where families skate laps together during public hours. First-timers find their feet in the beginners' area with a push-along frame, while confident kids can switch between long-track and figure skates.
Waterman Sport, just inside the gates, rents skates and helmets. The indoor ice hall is for clubs, except over the Christmas holidays.
Electric Fireworks is Amsterdam's New Year's countdown on Museumplein, in front of the Rijksmuseum: a light show, music and eco-friendly fireworks timed to each other, designed for this square.
For families, the draw is Electric Fireworks Junior, an early-evening show with its own countdown, made for kids who can't or won't stay up until midnight. Expect a dense crowd; the last edition drew over 80,000 people across both shows.
Every winter, about 20 light artworks go up in, over and beside the canals of Amsterdam's old center. Families see them two ways: on foot along the route, or from a canal boat.
The festival app has a Kids Walk with fun facts, quiz questions and a scavenger hunt that ends in a small prize. It suits kids happy to be out in the cold after dark.
Once a year, Dutch tulip growers fill Museumplein with a picking garden of 200,000 tulips and open it to anyone. Kids walk the rows and pick their own bunch to carry home in a biodegradable tulip bag.
A dweilorkest, a traditional Dutch street brass band, plays songs like Tulpen uit Amsterdam along the queue. It suits families with patience for a line and kids who like a hands-on job.
Each Lunar New Year, Amsterdam's Chinatown around Nieuwmarkt and the Zeedijk fills with lion and dragon dances, drums, music and street performances through the day.
Kids follow the dancing lions through the crowd, watch the New Year rituals at the Fo Guang Shan He Hua Temple, and can finish with a meal at one of the neighborhood's Chinese restaurants. It suits kids who like noise and crowds more than quiet ones.
