Toddlers need to climb, crawl and bounce whatever the weather, and big play halls aren't always built for them. These spots are: separate toddler zones with soft mats and ball pits, morning sessions just for under-fives, play cafés where you eat within sight of them, and a library floor made for kids. Here's what we checked, from the soft play corner at Kids Eiland to the treehouses at De Boomhuttenclub.
An indoor play center at the De Uithof sports complex, built around a big climbing frame with tunnels, slides and an elastic climbing tower. Kids can also bounce in the trampoline zone, play in the ball pit, build with Fun Blocks and take each other on at laser game.
A separate toddler zone has soft mats, mini slides and its own ball pit for crawlers and early walkers.
An indoor playground with a Fun House climbing frame for kids from 4, packed with an air slide, a toboggan run, giant building blocks and a ball shower. A glow-in-the-dark jungle of life-size animals holds laser tag and mini golf, and there is a trampoline zone.
Under-4s get their own toddler zone with a ball pit, mini trampoline and slides. Parents can watch from the café.
An indoor play center built around a big climbing frame with slides, ball pits and trampolines. Toddlers get their own separate zone with a ball waterfall and a pirate ship.
Extras cost a little more: kids' cars, a carousel, laser tag under the climbing frame, the LavaLand pixel floor and four bowling lanes. Parents watch from the café, which looks out over the play area.
Kids Eiland is a 3,000 m² indoor play center in the Megastores mall. Toddlers get a soft play area with big blocks; older kids get a freefall slide, an elastic climbing tower, trampolines, rope bridges and bouncy castles.
Nothing is motorized, so every moving part runs on kid power. The café serves fresh sandwiches, snacks and coffee, and the whole menu is halal.
Zuiderparadijs is an indoor playground on a first floor, reached by lift. Kids race down multi-lane slides and a power tower, bounce on trampolines, climb towers with rope bridges and tunnels, and build with giant blocks.
Parents can drive the electric minicar circuit too. There is a big ball pit, a soft toddler corner with its own trampoline, and an arcade room for older kids.
Play & Bounce is an indoor play hall inside the Scheveningen Pier, with two zones. The soft play park, for kids up to 10, has climbing blocks, giant soft Lego bricks, a ball pit and slides.
The trampoline park has eight large trampolines plus four side trampolines, so kids can bounce off the walls too. It pairs well with a morning on the beach below.
An inflatable park with more than 1000 m² of air cushions: waves, a pyramid, a climbing wall, slides and obstacle runs like Wipe Out and Ninja Run. Beyond the bouncing there is a net course for climbing and balancing at height, interactive games such as Tag & Run, and GlowGolf, an 18-hole mini golf played in the dark. Built for burning energy on a rainy day.
Bounce Valley Zoetermeer is an inflatable park where air cushions take the place of trampolines, across more than 1,000 m². Kids start in a bounce area with a pyramid, a jelly mountain and waves, then move on to an obstacle run, a ninja run, a jump tower, a climbing wall, extreme slides and light-up games like Catch the Light. Adults can sit on an air-conditioned terrace inside or jump along.
Laaktheater is a neighborhood theater with a round, steeply raked hall, and the venue says every seat has a clear view. The program mixes toddler shows, youth theater and dance with music, film and comedy, much of it made with people who live in Laak.
Kids can also join theater lessons or Bollywood dance classes, and school holidays bring festivals like Krokus Kabaal and Festival De Betovering.
Oma Toos is a Dutch pancake house on Scheveningen's second inner harbor, lined with Delft blue tiles and hundreds of small lights. The kitchen makes pancakes and poffertjes (mini pancakes) to a grandma's recipes, plus stamppot, stews and a kids' menu.
In the middle of the room stands a playhouse shaped like a canal house, where kids run in and out while parents eat. The terrace faces the marina.
A family café with an enclosed play area of wooden treehouses, set where parents can see it from their tables. Kids climb and play freely while adults have breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee and cake, or an apéro.
The club is built around families with younger children. Groups top out at eight people, and kids' birthday parties aren't hosted during opening hours, so it stays calm.
The city's main public library fills several floors of Richard Meier's white City Hall complex on Spui, around the largest atrium in the Netherlands.
The third floor is for children and teens, with a play area, books shelved by age, study spaces and a workshop room. Story sessions run there, including weekly read-alouds in Serbian. The fifth floor holds a theater and a green terrace with city views.
Toddlers need to climb, crawl and bounce whatever the weather, and big play halls aren't always built for them. These spots are: separate toddler zones with soft mats and ball pits, morning sessions just for under-fives, play cafés where you eat within sight of them, and a library floor made for kids. Here's what we checked, from the soft play corner at Kids Eiland to the treehouses at De Boomhuttenclub.
An indoor play center at the De Uithof sports complex, built around a big climbing frame with tunnels, slides and an elastic climbing tower. Kids can also bounce in the trampoline zone, play in the ball pit, build with Fun Blocks and take each other on at laser game.
A separate toddler zone has soft mats, mini slides and its own ball pit for crawlers and early walkers.
An indoor playground with a Fun House climbing frame for kids from 4, packed with an air slide, a toboggan run, giant building blocks and a ball shower. A glow-in-the-dark jungle of life-size animals holds laser tag and mini golf, and there is a trampoline zone.
Under-4s get their own toddler zone with a ball pit, mini trampoline and slides. Parents can watch from the café.
An indoor play center built around a big climbing frame with slides, ball pits and trampolines. Toddlers get their own separate zone with a ball waterfall and a pirate ship.
Extras cost a little more: kids' cars, a carousel, laser tag under the climbing frame, the LavaLand pixel floor and four bowling lanes. Parents watch from the café, which looks out over the play area.
Kids Eiland is a 3,000 m² indoor play center in the Megastores mall. Toddlers get a soft play area with big blocks; older kids get a freefall slide, an elastic climbing tower, trampolines, rope bridges and bouncy castles.
Nothing is motorized, so every moving part runs on kid power. The café serves fresh sandwiches, snacks and coffee, and the whole menu is halal.
Zuiderparadijs is an indoor playground on a first floor, reached by lift. Kids race down multi-lane slides and a power tower, bounce on trampolines, climb towers with rope bridges and tunnels, and build with giant blocks.
Parents can drive the electric minicar circuit too. There is a big ball pit, a soft toddler corner with its own trampoline, and an arcade room for older kids.
Play & Bounce is an indoor play hall inside the Scheveningen Pier, with two zones. The soft play park, for kids up to 10, has climbing blocks, giant soft Lego bricks, a ball pit and slides.
The trampoline park has eight large trampolines plus four side trampolines, so kids can bounce off the walls too. It pairs well with a morning on the beach below.
An inflatable park with more than 1000 m² of air cushions: waves, a pyramid, a climbing wall, slides and obstacle runs like Wipe Out and Ninja Run. Beyond the bouncing there is a net course for climbing and balancing at height, interactive games such as Tag & Run, and GlowGolf, an 18-hole mini golf played in the dark. Built for burning energy on a rainy day.
Bounce Valley Zoetermeer is an inflatable park where air cushions take the place of trampolines, across more than 1,000 m². Kids start in a bounce area with a pyramid, a jelly mountain and waves, then move on to an obstacle run, a ninja run, a jump tower, a climbing wall, extreme slides and light-up games like Catch the Light. Adults can sit on an air-conditioned terrace inside or jump along.
Laaktheater is a neighborhood theater with a round, steeply raked hall, and the venue says every seat has a clear view. The program mixes toddler shows, youth theater and dance with music, film and comedy, much of it made with people who live in Laak.
Kids can also join theater lessons or Bollywood dance classes, and school holidays bring festivals like Krokus Kabaal and Festival De Betovering.
Oma Toos is a Dutch pancake house on Scheveningen's second inner harbor, lined with Delft blue tiles and hundreds of small lights. The kitchen makes pancakes and poffertjes (mini pancakes) to a grandma's recipes, plus stamppot, stews and a kids' menu.
In the middle of the room stands a playhouse shaped like a canal house, where kids run in and out while parents eat. The terrace faces the marina.
A family café with an enclosed play area of wooden treehouses, set where parents can see it from their tables. Kids climb and play freely while adults have breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee and cake, or an apéro.
The club is built around families with younger children. Groups top out at eight people, and kids' birthday parties aren't hosted during opening hours, so it stays calm.
The city's main public library fills several floors of Richard Meier's white City Hall complex on Spui, around the largest atrium in the Netherlands.
The third floor is for children and teens, with a play area, books shelved by age, study spaces and a workshop room. Story sessions run there, including weekly read-alouds in Serbian. The fifth floor holds a theater and a green terrace with city views.
