Family Travel

Most people think of Rotterdam as some sort of industrial seaport town without much to recommend it for family travel, but the city’s spectacular architecture and maritime heritage make it well worth a trip, even with kids.

I like to show my children interesting buildings; I don’t have a background in design or architecture but I really like to see imaginative structures, and my kids like the eye candy, too.

Rotterdam is full of “look! cool!” futuristic sights, many of them clustered on the Maas River that runs through the middle of the city.

We visited during the annual maritime festival World Port Days in September, so there were continuous daytime demonstrations on the water for us to watch plus music-themed fireworks at night.

One of our favorite activities was looking around inside the cheery yellow Kubuswoningen (Cube Houses) that you see in the photo above; their unique cantilevered design was just plain fun for the kids to look at and walk through. The “Show House” Cube House is open 11:00-5:00 daily — for a nominal charge, visitors can see the imaginative built-ins, great views and thoughtful layout inside a typical house.

To orient ourselves, we took a 75-minute narrated harbor cruise with the Spido tourboat company.

The tour showed us all the waterfront sights, including the famous Erasmus Bridge and glimpses into the seaport industrial area (complete with an entire huge tank full of orange juice awaiting shipping. The kids were in awe of that much OJ.)

For lodging, it’s hard to beat the waterfront location and reasonable prices at the Tulip Inn Rotterdam. Ask for a riverside room to look right out onto the spiky Erasmus Bridge.

Consider picking up a tourist Rotterdam Welcome Card for discounts on many popular attractions.

We didn’t get around to these but want to try them on our next visit:

• A cruise around Rotterdam while munching on traditional Dutch pancakes; set sail on De Pannenkoekenboot (the Pancake Boat.)
• Go to the top of Euromast for awesome views of the city.
• From modern architecture to rows of historic Dutch windmills along a canal — take a boat trip to see Kinderdijk.
• For older kids who are jazz fans, check out the North Sea Jazz Festival every summer.

Related Family Travel posts:

• Travel with kids to Amsterdam
• Wonderfully off the tourist beaten path: Wadden Sea/Waddenzee islands with kids

What’s there to do in the Netherlands outside of Amsterdam? Plenty, especially with families.

We had a chance to visit two of the laid-back Frisian islands in the North Sea/Wadden Sea (mostly in the Friesland province) Texel and Terschelling.

Friesland is one of the many provinces that make up the Netherlands; the oft-used term Holland really only applies to two of these provinces. If you are looking for a fun Dutch place to visit (complete with wide, sandy beaches, miles of flat bike paths and farmland full of fluffy sheep) this is your spot.

The better-known Scheveningen area near Den Haag (The Hague) is more boardwalk-y, and that’s fine if you’re pressed for time and just want to hit some beach quickly.

As always, the local VVV (”Vereniging voor Vreemdelingenverkeer,” the Dutch tourist bureau) on either island can help you with hotel and activity arrangements.

Texel Island (pronounced Tessel) is part of Noord-Holland and is the easiest island to reach from Amsterdam.

We found lots of things to do (I was there with my preteen daughter plus two of her friends) including bike rides on the pretty “fietspads” or bike paths, kite-flying on the breezy beaches, seeing the EcoMare nature center and the Maritime & Beachcombers Museum, go-karting and a fun ride on a shrimp boat to see seals and watch the local fishermen in action.

In honor of the island’s wool industry we bought some nice warm lambswool slippers and gentle sheep’s milk soap.

I visited Terschelling (pronounced Terskelling, and here’s another info site) with my three year-old son.

The island is reached by ferry from the coastal town of Harlingen. It’s smaller and quieter than Texel, but we had absolutely no agenda other than digging in the sand and riding bikes….well, I rode and he sat in the bike kiddie seat behind me, waving at people.

The Dutch, as you might imagine, provide you with rock-solid two-wheeled transport complete with full fenders, bell, light, basket, chain guard and sturdy child seats that bolt onto the back of the bike frame.

I wasn’t able to try the unique experience of wadlopen or mud-walking on my trips, but it’s on the agenda for the future.

As you can see from my links, there is plenty of information in English about the Netherlands. The Dutch seem to have a facility for speaking multiple languages; I attribute that to their seafaring and merchant heritage (think of the Dutch East India Company.)

A Dutch friend also laughingly commented that “we have to learn English and other languages because no one else speaks Dutch!”

This makes travel with kids in the Netherlands pretty idiot-proof and less of a stressor for parents than other places where communication is more difficult. Have a great time!