Beautiful Amsterdam

Everyone in the Banks family were really excited to go to Amsterdam at February half term. Molly and Charlie had both learnt about Anne Frank at school and Rich and I are a sucker for a gorgeous canal-side boutique hotel so we booked our flights and off we went!

Amsterdam is a fantastic, super-walkable city with lots to see and do.. it’s incredibly beautiful too with insta-worthy shots on practically every corner. Of course when you think about Amsterdam you might assume that a certain type of café and the red-light district might detract from it suitability as a family destination but just isn’t the case.. it’s really easy to avoid any areas that you don’t wish to see and if you do make a wrong turn with kids in tow.. it’s a friendly place, keep on walking and you’ll be laughing it off whilst stuffing your face with gorgeous pancakes before you know it (this is just theoretically of course and NOT from personal experience).

HOW WE GOT THERE - We flew from Luton but there are flights from pretty much everywhere to Amsterdam. If you’re lucky enough to live near London you can hop on the Eurostar too. If you’re flying in, just hop on the train at the airport and you’ll be in the centre of Amsterdam in about 15 minutes.

WHERE WE STAYED - There are hundreds of hotels at all sorts of budgets in Amsterdam. Location is key because if you pick the right place, you’ll be able to walk to lots of places in this lovely city. We stayed at the wonderful canal side 4* Ambassade Hotel in a quad family room. The room set-up was perfect (double for us and 2 x singles around a corner the for teens) and the breakfast was out of this world.

WHAT WE DID (1) One of our favourite things about Amsterdam was exploring on foot with lots of people watching, stopping for delicious snacks and mooching in interesting shops. (2) Visited Anne Frank’s house which was a fascinating and humbling experience (you must pre-book though otherwise you won’t get in). (3) Hired bikes for a few hours and cycled around in Vondelpark which is Amsterdam’s most famous park before stopping for a spot of lunch in a café we came across (4) We didn’t go to the Van Gogh Museum because it was sold out so make sure you book in advance! (5) Took a canal cruise one evening - this was lots of fun and we learnt lots of great facts about Amsterdam from the funny guides

WHAT WE ATE (1) Gorgeous Italian meal on our first night at a bustling Italian called Casa di David (reservations essential) (2) AMAZING apple pie at the famous Winkel 43 (you’ll have to wait for a table but it’s worth it) (3) Yummy frites from Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx (4) Freshly-baked stroopwafels (delicious Dutch cookie that looks like a small waffle) from van Wonderen (5) Super-cheap delicious street-food at Albert Cuyp Market (6) Hot, tasty and cheap croquettes from famous automated fast food staple FEBO