Why Amsterdam?
A blend of incredible history, art and culture Amsterdam is a fantastic place for a learning trip. We were here for 24 hours in 2024 and loved every minute and cant wait to go back!
Great place to visit with any students doing History, History of Art, Religious Studies and Politics as lots of opportunities for learning in action. Its also in general just great for a visit with kids of any age as theres something to see literally on every corner. Despite the reputation as being a bit of a party city we didn’t come across any Stag parties and the more disruptive behaviour I assume is concentrated around the Red Light district area which we avoided. We found the city super easy to navigate around on foot & everyone we met to be really welcoming and effortlessly cool.
Spots to Go
We arrived in the evening to Amsterdam so this is a bit of a hodge podge of things we did and saw over one evening and then the following day.
Rembrandt and Van Gogh Light show – We arrived in pouring rain to a very cold and wet city. I made the decision to do the light show in the church as walking around was out of the question. I’d also seen the lines to get into the Riijksmuseum and vetoed that for the following day for the gang because we didn’t want to line up. The church was a great venue and it was a really cool show which projected the art work of the two artists and tied them together with a story – through letters and corresponding works. It was a fun immersive learning experience and the kids still remember and talk about little facts they picked up so I thought it was a win!
Learning points – How an area shapes an artist / area’s become famous for certain artists so others flock there, Van Gogh and his travels through Europe through his art works especially drawing on his works done in the asylum in France compared to some of the earlier work we saw on display here.
Jewish Quarter – Obviously it is just an area in the city now with homes and shops but within recent enough memory (my grandparents lifetime for example) it was the bustling centre of Amsterdams Jewish population. Here you’ll find a museum, childrens museum & synagogue. What really makes this area fascinating from a homeschool point of view is the addition of quite literally hundreds of Stumbling Stones. They are laid into the ground as far as the eye can see on some streets.
Learning points – Migration & why people flock or are put into one city area, rights and equality of citizens in different areas of the city (we compared this to other cities we had visited), The holocaust, Memorials / remembering the war and how we memorialise people, Jewish religion, Politics and the rise of the far right and antisemetism in some parts of Europe today, The Nazi Occupation of Europe & the ‘final solution’ (iGCSE Syllabus).
New Synagogue – What a building this is. Our first time going to a Synagogue and learning about other faith.
Interestingly there are police outside and enhanced security measures so that fed into a conversation about world politics at the moment.
Learning Points – Differences in religions and religious practice, Antisemitism in the western world in the 19/20th centuries, Architecture (some great features here of renaissance revival style and southern European influence).
Anne Frank Haus – This was packed & I’m going to be honest and share an opinion I doubt many will agree with but hey ho. We didnt get tickets but we did walk along the Prinsengracht and see the warehouse and hiding place from the outside. The whole area is full of people and when we saw a couple recreating a TikTok trend we left!!
Learning Points – A slight history of Otto Frank and his Opekta business / why they moved from Germany in the 1930s for a more culturally diverse city. In the lead up to our trip we watched Disneys A Small Light, about Meip Geis and her hiding of the Frank family, a lot of which featured the area around the hiding place. So that was pretty cool.
Anne Franks Actual House – This is a homeschoolers dream and a hidden gem. Google map link is here. We drove to it and parked right outside. There is a small statue of Anne, and you can see the family Stolpersteine. You can walk right up to the door and see where people leave photos occasionally (someone does live here so exercise common sense). I felt that this place is more important to the story of the life of this young dreamer and visiting here put the whole Frank family at the centre of their story and hammered home they were ordinary people pre war. We were the only people visiting on the grey day we went, we walked the square and saw the stones of her neighbours. As a bonus we went to the cafe on the corner of the street and watched the youtube video of her taken from the window & read the passages of her diary relating to the area. This is true history in action and a visit none of us will ever forget.
Rembrandts House – Again we didn’t go in but it looked like a great museum to visit and was a fun stop outside to look at the older architecture.
Waterlooplien Flea Market –
Very little learning was done here bar practicing our “alsjeblieft en bedankt” (pleases and thank you) when buying trinkets. The kids loved the vintage clothes and came back with a selection of footie shirts and denim, I stocked up on vintage prints & postcards and some old tiles. A fun stop that was cheap and cheerful. We played the “who can get the most random thing for 4 quid” game and I felt it was safe enough for my older (13+) children to explore a bit on their own.
The Breakdown
We drove here as part of our Road trip in 2024. Driving in Amsterdam city centre is an experience. Imagine the most bikes you have ever seen then times it by 10, then add kids to some these bikes either in a bucket or trailer as well as the odd completely kamikaze kid on their own bike, then add some random dogs running along too – you’d need 8 pairs of eyes!! If you drive here with kids either give them headphones or have the radio loud enough they cant hear all the F words you will inevitably say.
Stayed
The Teleport hotel. Im not even going to link it because it is NOT a family hotel. We stayed in the Apre Ski theme room with a ski lift car as a feature but no windows and 8 bunks. The hostel/hotel has parking outside, sells pre-rolled joints in vending machines in the lobby & is under 100 euro for one night for 9 people – do with that info what you wish.
Ate
– Picnic from one of the many Jumbo or Albert Heijn stores dotted around – 10/10 for the Jumbo own brand iced coffee drinks for getting me through both of our Amsterdam days! Nearly every supermarket in the city centre while not massive (think more like a Tesco express) had a fresh bakery section and a cheap & cheerful coffee machine so we had brekkie and lunch each day for 9 of us for under twenty euro.
– Frijtes mit Mayo from any foodcart selling them especially the one in Waterlooplein which did skin on fries & a literal flood of creamy Mayo on top. Nomnomnom.
– We didn’t buy into the Stroopwaffle hype but we did stop and get beer and Applecake in a random pub which was delicious. We tried to avoid anywhere with a crowd of Americans waiting to get in and found the Dutch publicans to be welcoming and fascinated by our mega large homeschooling family.
Dinner – We dined at Raïnarï Markt which is more of a take out place but very kindly let us buy Pizza & salads and eat at their large bench seating at the back. It was absolutely throwing down rain and they were so welcoming! The food was delicious and great to try some different flavours and I loved all the wares they had on sale. I bought spices and wish I’d have bought baskets but Ryanair luggage allowances are no joke.
Cafe Scenes – We had spoken to the kids about Weed being legal here and our older boys did go into a cafe (accompanied by their dad) to see what was on offer & soak up the atmosphere / fumes , when traveling with kids some cafes aren’t allowed to let under 18s in but its usually pretty easy to realize which places are good for coffee and which are for something a little stronger!
Buy
Vintage, Tulip bulbs (although none of mine grew), Edibles if it floats your boat, Homeware (the tile, the candlesticks, the effortlessly cool design of everything).
Do
Pack layers. We were on our summer holiday but found the climate really similar to Ireland – ie Rain, sun and hail in one day! Also remember your tote bags as no where has plastic bags (like most of Europe bar the UK and Ireland it seems!).
Dont
Mind the bang of weed on the street at 9am, 10am or 10pm – like most big cities where its now legal there is no stigmatism or people hiding away to smoke. I personally think its a healthy attitude towards it & didn’t see anyone who was suffering from any ill side effects. It takes some getting used to the smell out and about in public. It didn’t make us feel any less safe or secure in the city despite it being present everywhere – it shouldn’t put anyone off visiting even with young kids and Im annoyed I’ve not gone sooner with my crew!
