Netherlands

Amsterdam

Canal boats double as entertainment and transport, the NEMO science museum is five floors of hands-on chaos, and Vondelpark absorbs whatever energy remains.

Best forFamilies · Culture seekers · Couples
In December7°C · 16 rainy days
Ideal stay3-4 nights
Approx. flying time~11h 15m from Los Angeles

Compare

Amsterdam, Netherlands Open in Google Maps Powered by Geoapify · © OpenStreetMap contributors · © OpenMapTiles

CurrencyEUREuro
LanguageDutch
Local time13:111h ahead of the UK
PlugsType C / FBring an adapter
Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
Dialling code+31

Why go

A city built on rings of water, with low brick houses and more bicycles than people. It is flat, small enough to cross on foot and organised around canals that double as the main sight. Museums here are unusually good with children, parks absorb whatever energy is left, and the whole place is scaled down in a way that makes it manageable with a pushchair and a plan.

Three or four nights covers the museums, a boat and a park with time to spare. Spring brings tulips and long queues, summer is warm and busy, and winter is dark, cheaper and atmospheric. Book the major museums before you travel, since walk up tickets barely exist any more. Families should steer around the red light district and the streets immediately behind it in the evening.

Ideal stay: 3-4 nights
The vibe: Flat, brick, bicycle powered

From our guides

Amsterdam is flat, compact and best seen from a bike with a child seat — locals will assume you're one of them. The Van Gogh Museum runs family trails that genuinely work, and pancakes are considered a legitimate main course.

Featured in Ten easy city breaks that work with kids in tow

Things to do

NEMO Science Museum

Five floors of hands on experiments in a green copper building shaped like a ship, with a stepped rooftop terrace and city view that is free to visit.
A canal boat

Boats leave from several points near the central station, and an hour on the water explains the shape of the city better than any map.
Vondelpark

The main city park has playgrounds, open air theatre in summer and room to run, a few minutes from the museum quarter.
The Rijksmuseum

The national collection runs family trails and treasure hunts that genuinely work, and a public cycle path runs straight through the middle of the building.
Van Gogh Museum

The largest collection of his work anywhere, arranged chronologically, with children's activities and timed entry booked online in advance.
Pancakes and stroopwafels

Dutch pannenkoeken arrive the size of a plate, sweet or savoury, and count as lunch. Stroopwafels are best warm from a market stall.

Getting there

Fly to
Amsterdam (AMS)

Nearest airport to Amsterdam, about 11km away as the crow flies.
Then
To Amsterdam

Trains run from beneath Schiphol (AMS) to Amsterdam Centraal in around fifteen minutes, several times an hour.
On the ground
Getting around

The centre is flat, compact and walkable, with trams, a metro and a canal-boat network filling the gaps. Hired bikes, child seats included, are how locals do it.

Public transport: Excellent. Trams and metro cover the city, and driving and parking in the centre are best avoided altogether.

Flights

Los Angeles Amsterdam, Netherlands

Flying from

Fly from anywhere — search 4,000+ airports worldwide.

Roughly 11h 15m in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices.

Check dates and prices

Pick your departure date, then your return.

Search flights

Flight times are estimates; prices open on Google Flights.

When to go

Daytime highs run from about 7°C in January to 22°C in August. Driest in April and September; wettest in October, with rain on about 16 days.

The year at a glance — pick a month for detail

December7° · rain 16 daysCold and often wet.

Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis).

Where to stay

Canal-house hotels with tiny rooms, design-led hotels in converted buildings and a strict licensed apartment market. Chains cluster near the station and the south.

Best base overall
Jordaan

Canal streets, small cafés and independent shops, a short walk from the museums but off the tourist funnel. Rooms are small and stairs are famously steep, which is Amsterdam all over.
Find stays in Jordaan
Best with children
Oud-Zuid and the Museum Quarter

Beside Vondelpark and the big museums, with wider pavements, quieter streets and family-sized apartments. Not much evening life, and prices are firmly at the top end.
Find stays in Oud-Zuid and the Museum Quarter
Best value
De Pijp

South of the centre, with the Albert Cuyp market and a good spread of restaurants at fairer rates. Lively rather than pretty, and a fifteen-minute cycle to the centre.
Find stays in De Pijp
Quietest
Amsterdam-Noord

Across the IJ by free ferry, with converted warehouses and newer hotels at lower prices. Genuinely calm, though you are watching ferry times at the end of the night.
Find stays in Amsterdam-Noord

Worth knowing before you book: The city tax is a percentage of the room rate and lands at checkout, so budget for it. Book well ahead for tulip season in April and for any long weekend.

Our picks in this destination

ClinkNOORD Amsterdam-Noord · waterfront Art Deco hostel Occupies a 1920s Art Deco former laboratory building on the IJ waterfront at Badhuiskade 3, with mixed and female dorms, private rooms and 24-hour cafe. Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark Vondelpark / Oud-Zuid · large park-side hostel Sits at Zandpad 5 on the edge of Vondelpark near Leidseplein, with dorms and private rooms, restaurant, bar, 24-hour reception and EU Ecolabel certification. Volkshotel Amsterdam-Oost · converted office-block hotel Stands at Wibautstraat 150 in Amsterdam-Oost, with rooftop hot tubs and sauna, the Canvas rooftop restaurant and club, a basement sound bar and coworking floors. Mr. Jordaan Jordaan · canal-house boutique hotel Occupies adjoining canal houses at Bloemgracht 102, a 17th-century canal just off the Prinsengracht, offering single, twin, double and triple rooms with breakfast. Conscious Hotel Westerpark Westerpark · eco hotel in monument Has 89 rooms in a renovated monumental building that once held the Westergasfabriek offices, between the Westergas cultural complex and the park, running fully on electricity. Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam Java-eiland / Eastern Docklands · timber hotel with indoor garden Has 200 rooms at Javakade 766 on Java-eiland, built to BREEAM sustainability standards around an indoor subtropical garden planted with Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam. Sir Albert Hotel De Pijp · design hotel on market street Occupies Albert Cuypstraat 2-6 at the head of the De Pijp market street, with Izakaya Asian Kitchen & Bar on site serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pulitzer Amsterdam Canal Ring (Grachtengordel) · linked 17th-century canal houses Comprises 25 restored 17th-century canal houses at Prinsengracht 323 in the canal ring, a five-star hotel with its own restaurants and bars.

Or search everything else in Amsterdam by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.

Or see everything in Amsterdam

Good to know

Book ahead: Timed tickets are compulsory at the main museums, and the Anne Frank House releases dates a set number of weeks in advance.
Cycling: Cycle lanes are for locals moving fast. Stay out of them on foot, and if you hire bikes, keep children on the inside.
Cash or card: Many places take cards only, and Dutch payment systems sometimes reject foreign cards. Carry a backup method.
Getting there: Trains run from Schiphol to the centre in under twenty minutes, and Eurostar connects London directly.
With kids: Canal railings are low or absent and houseboats have no barriers. Keep small children on the inside of the pavement.