Amsterdam in a Day (with a Toddler)

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Ah Amsterdam. A city everyone must visit at least once in their lifetime. Despite its charming reputation as the Venice of the North, Amsterdam has a seedy side and is clearly for adults. OK, maybe it's actually for hipster twenty-somethings eager to "experience" this bucket-list city. Either way, it's not for kids at first glance. Yet despite this, we took our 3-year-old there for a short weekend (Arrived at 8 pm Friday night and left the city for our flight at 1 pm Sunday) filled with museums and 40,000 steps - and were surprised to find plenty for kids to do. We also discovered that Amsterdam is one of the WORST cities we have visited for food allergies, specifically with the lack of gluten-free menus/options.

ADVANCE WARNING: We didn't bring our regular camera on this trip. So all of the images here are from our iPhones. Sorry in advance for the poor quality!

We flew KLM, and must mention, this airline is our absolute favorite to fly with kids in tow. They are so family-friendly from check-in, to flight attendants, to the planes themselves. They always have extra snacks and goodies (passport cover, cards, coloring books/crayons, etc.) for the little ones, and go out of their way to ensure the trip is pleasant. Often, this airline is one of the more expensive options when booking, but it is worth the additional fare price. We've done both European domestic as well as transatlantic flights with them. For an opposite experience, read our post about our most recent transatlantic flight here.

We arrived into Schipol Airport Friday evening around 8 pm and attempted to catch the train into town. Being avid travelers, we like to think we are pretty savvy when it comes to eking out public transportation. However, Amsterdam, you win for most confusing airport train terminal. We simply could not figure out why three platforms said Amsterdam Centraal, but only one was actually going there?

Once in town, transportation was easy - we walked everywhere (do be careful walking for two reasons: 1) the streets take sharp turns so beginning to walk east doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up in that direction - pay attention to your map and 2) BIKES! They are everywhere and come out of nowhere, FAST!). We had planned on purchasing the iAmsterdam pass, but ended up not needing it. If we had been staying 3- days, we would have, as the cost is very reasonable and the attractions it includes were right up our alley, plus all transportation is included as well, making it a real bargain.

After meeting up with Adam's brother who had flown in from the US the day before, w found a spot for a nice dinner and headed to our AirBnB - a lovely little apartment in Westerpark. It was a great location, and the apartment was perfect for our group of 3 adults and a toddler. In fact, our host had two children so there were lots of toys for G to play with. He had so much fun with the toys that he asked if we were going back for weeks after leaving - clearly we are depriving him. This was our first experience with AirBnB, and it was excellent if you are staying more than one night. Under one night, Expedia and Hotels.com are our go to booking sites. We've used Hotels.com for years and enjoy the perks of the free nights earned, but recently we've found that at least in Europe, Expedia has had better prices about half the time.

Another site we've ignored for years, but have found more useful in Europe is TripAdvisor. We never paid much attention to the reviews, but they now have booking search capabilities with prices that compare multiple search sites. This is great for us because time is precious. I used to spend hours on multiple sites comparing prices before finally booking. TripAdvisor does that for you transparently (and more companies are beginning to use this idea) and you can book from your choice directly on their website.

Disclaimer: The booking websites above are sites we use regularly and trust. We have had nothing but good experiences and customer service with them, and therefore, can confidently recommend them. That being said, if you click the affiliate link from our website and book, we do receive a small commission. Will it buy us a year off? No, but it will allow us to have a cup of hot cocoa in our next destination and bring you more amazing content! You will not pay any more for the hotel, rental car, flight, etc. by using the link than you would had you typed it into your browser manually. We appreciate your trust in the services and products we may recommend from time to time.

Playing with the toys at our AirBnB in Westerpark

On Saturday, we meandered the canals to find a breakfast spot and then headed to the Rijksmuseum. We had purchased tickets in advance, so entry was a breeze. The museum offered kids and adults a sketch book and pencil which was a really great idea - souvenir and opportunity to learn in one swoop! G sat on a bench and drew from sight for the first time ever, and even though his giraffe was 4 lines, it actually looked similar to the skeleton he was attempting to replicate!

Another museum we enjoyed in Boston can be found here.

About an hour into our visit, G was getting a little antsy. I checked my step count and we were at 19,000 and it was only 11 am, clearly he was exhausted - he walked every one of those steps on his own! I held him for a few minutes and he fell asleep in my arms - it was wonderful, he hadn't done that in a long time. But after about 10 minutes, my arms were killing me. I switched off with Adam but after another 10 minutes his arms were hurting too. Wanting him to get a good nap in, I whipped off my scarf and asked Adam to tie him to me with it - like a baby carrier sling. It worked like a charm, and G got an hour and a half nap (and my arms weren't about to fall off).

After the nap, we left the museum from the rear and came upon the famous 'Iamsterdam' sculpture. It was packed with people climbing, posing, and hanging on it. We walked around and into the park in front of the museum. There was a nice area for kids to play and G took advantage of the opportunity to run around without having to hold an adult's hand.

We wandered for a while and found tunnel-like pathway leading to an adorable hidden copse of 17th-century homes circling a small grassy park with blooming tulips. It was actually quiet in there, with VERY FEW tourists - something we had a really hard time getting away from in this city. The area was beautiful and seemed like an exclusive part of town.

Gorgeous little hidden group of homes in Amsterdam

Eating here was a challenge. Being gluten-free in Finland is absolutely wonderful - everything is labeled and they always have at least 2-3 gluten-free options on the buffet or menu. In Amsterdam, nothing was labeled - which is OK, you know in general what you can eat, but the chances of cross contamination are really high, and the frustration of having to check each menu item for sauces or seasonings that may contain gluten made it a little bit harder. We also found that the food was just OK. We had nothing spectacular on this trip. If we could have tried them, I'm sure the pancakes are pretty amazing, as well as the waffles.

After lunch we walked to the Anne Frank House and the Westerkerk (where Rembrandt is buried). Having not been able to purchase tickets ahead of time online (we waited too late), we figured we'd give it a shot with waiting in line...Didn't work out. The line was wrapped around Westerkerk and the street for at least 2 blocks!

PRO TIP: If you know you will be visiting Amsterdam and want to go to the Anne Frank House, go online at least a month in advance and purchase your tickets for this attraction! They sell out EARLY! And the line is LONG if you attempt to try your luck waiting in it for a chance to get in. The good news is that it's open until 8-10 pm depending on the evening, but the line didn't appear to be moving very fast. We made the mistake of waiting until the week before our trip to check online and every single time slot was sold out for the next three weeks.

Since we couldn't get into the Anne Frank House and Westerkerk was closed, we continued wandering, finding the prettiest canal in the city: Brouwersgracht. The Singel side is older, dating from 1585-1593 and the architecture is adorable. Check out this 16th century house. The quote translates to: Over time, the sprout becomes a tree. We thought it was a perfect parallel to how we grow and learn through travel and art.

After a full day of walking and more than 30,000 steps we were tired and ready for dinner and bed. We ate at a small family-run place (the most untouristy place we found the whole time) in Westerpark. The food was decent but we were so hungry we probably could have eaten anything at that point!

Sunday was a quick day - breakfast and then a nice wander through more canals before heading to the train station to get to the airport for an early afternoon flight. Luckily we only brought backpacks for clothing so it was easy to carry our things while still exploring.

Overall, the trip was really nice although we wish we had had more time to explore, rent bikes and get out of the city, and see a few more of the top sites. Because we were limited on time we felt we couldn't escape the tourists no matter where we went, which was a little disappointing, but likely due to our schedule more than anything else. Had we stayed longer, we would have tried harder to find "secret" places and fewer visitors.

Things we loved/hated about Amsterdam:

Things we loved:

Very walkable city - you really don't have to have any form of trnsportation, as long as you have a map and can follow it!
Gorgeous historic buildings - 16th and 17th century buildings galore, on canals no less - this city lives up to the name of Venice of the North.
Great museums - although this trip only had the Rijksmuseum, we've visited others in the past and the museums here are fabulous.
Plenty for kids to do - each place we went either had a park or an activity for kids, which was appreciated.

Things we hated (we didn't actually HATE anything about the city, but there were some slight annoyances):

NO gluten-free options on menus (that were marked as such - you know in general what has gluten and what doesn't though), you need to specify the allergy when ordering as cross-contamination will be an issue.
Difficult to get away from throngs of tourists - again this was probably because we didn't have much time, but it was annoying not being able to feel like we were someplace with locals.
Coffee shops every other doorway (I suppose this is a pro for some visitors) - the smell of marijuana was pervasive throughout the city, and while you can ignore them if it isn't your thing, it was sad to have to come up with a story every few minutes when your toddler asks: "Why is it so stinky?' or "What's that smell mommy?"

More photos of the trip in the gallery below, click left or right to move through them.