The days out kids ask for by name, from the lions, elephants and aquarium at ARTIS to the candy-colored rooms and ball pits at WONDR. Here's what we checked, from ARTIS to WONDR. Book ahead at weekends and in school holidays.
ARTIS is one of the five oldest zoos in the world, set in the Plantage area among 800 trees and 26 national monuments. Around 300 animal species live here, including an Asian elephant herd with two young calves.
The ticket also covers the new Aquarium and the Planetarium, where dome shows travel through the solar system. Zookeepers give talks every day about feeding and training the animals.
A'DAM Lookout fills the top two floors of the A'DAM Tower, 100 meters above the IJ. A lift with light and sound effects climbs 20 floors in 20 seconds to an indoor deck with binoculars and a rooftop skydeck with a 360-degree view over the canals and polders. Add-ons include 'Over the Edge', a swing that arcs out past the roof edge, and a 2.5-minute VR ride.
Fabrique des Lumières is a digital art center in the Zuiveringshal, a former gasworks hall on the Westergasfabriek site by Westerpark. Famous paintings and photographs are projected across the walls and floor of two rooms, set to music. Kids can wander through the images, sit on the floor or the tiered seats, and watch the pictures move around them.
The program rotates, with each show in its own daily time slot.
Live actors in period costume lead visitors through eight interactive shows covering 750 years of Amsterdam's darkest history, with full sets and special effects.
Groups of up to 30 move from room to room, and the actors pull people from the crowd into the scenes. It is dark and loud, with jump scares, so it suits kids who like a fright and laugh it off afterward.
WONDR is a play attraction built for adults that welcomes kids with a grown-up. Fifteen themed rooms across 1,200 square meters hold what it calls Europe's largest ball pit, a pool of pink marshmallows, a confetti shower, a room of disco balls and fluffy karaoke booths. Cameras in each room send photos and GIFs to your inbox. It suits kids who like to jump and pose.
The days out kids ask for by name, from the lions, elephants and aquarium at ARTIS to the candy-colored rooms and ball pits at WONDR. Here's what we checked, from ARTIS to WONDR. Book ahead at weekends and in school holidays.
ARTIS is one of the five oldest zoos in the world, set in the Plantage area among 800 trees and 26 national monuments. Around 300 animal species live here, including an Asian elephant herd with two young calves.
The ticket also covers the new Aquarium and the Planetarium, where dome shows travel through the solar system. Zookeepers give talks every day about feeding and training the animals.
A'DAM Lookout fills the top two floors of the A'DAM Tower, 100 meters above the IJ. A lift with light and sound effects climbs 20 floors in 20 seconds to an indoor deck with binoculars and a rooftop skydeck with a 360-degree view over the canals and polders. Add-ons include 'Over the Edge', a swing that arcs out past the roof edge, and a 2.5-minute VR ride.
Fabrique des Lumières is a digital art center in the Zuiveringshal, a former gasworks hall on the Westergasfabriek site by Westerpark. Famous paintings and photographs are projected across the walls and floor of two rooms, set to music. Kids can wander through the images, sit on the floor or the tiered seats, and watch the pictures move around them.
The program rotates, with each show in its own daily time slot.
Live actors in period costume lead visitors through eight interactive shows covering 750 years of Amsterdam's darkest history, with full sets and special effects.
Groups of up to 30 move from room to room, and the actors pull people from the crowd into the scenes. It is dark and loud, with jump scares, so it suits kids who like a fright and laugh it off afterward.
WONDR is a play attraction built for adults that welcomes kids with a grown-up. Fifteen themed rooms across 1,200 square meters hold what it calls Europe's largest ball pit, a pool of pink marshmallows, a confetti shower, a room of disco balls and fluffy karaoke booths. Cameras in each room send photos and GIFs to your inbox. It suits kids who like to jump and pose.
