Where to Stay in Amsterdam with a Family : Our Canal House

Visions of Amsterdam canal houses and bicycles were running through my head when we set out planning to visit Amsterdam. I knew that I wanted to stay on a canal, close to the city center, but couldn’t decide between a boutique hotel with family rooms or a traditional canal house. Beyond that, I didn’t know anything about the best place to be in the city, or much about the canal ring in general. I was a bit at a loss for where to start looking or where exactly in the city was a great area to stay.

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amsterdam canal house

Thanks to the help of our friend Shannon who has traveled across much of the world, she recommended a perfect place for our family holiday one of the outer canals which is easy walking distance to most of the cultural attractions. We started our search on AirBnB and ended up finding a traditional canal house situated on the Keizersgracht, nestled in the heart of the city, that looked like a dream. These canal houses are older buildings, typically built in the 17th century, that face a canal and are in a great central location. They are tall and deep, with amazing roof lines and beautiful beams inside. Their entrances, due to the risk of flooding, are often above ground accessible by stairs. In recent years flooding has become less of an issue so many of the entrances are now in the basement, right at street level.

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

These homes were traditionally used as both a home and a business, such was the case with ours.  The basement level (street level to us Americans) was home to an Architect’s office.  At the back of these traditional Amsterdam houses there is usually a garden.  We had a beautiful deck and view of neighboring houses out of the back.  Having never used AirBnb before, we were a bit skeptical that what we saw on the internet would actually be what things looked like when we arrived.  After an easy Uber ride from the Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the pictures we had seen truthfully represented the home. Enjoy this tour of our traditional Amsterdam canal house vacation home:

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

The owner of this awesome canal house contacted us via email a few days before our scheduled arrival with information on how to get the keys and access to the house.   It was a super easy and seamless Airbnb experience in a wonderful property.

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

Canal houses are notorious for having steep, narrow stairways.  

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

Four stories of these steep, narrow, twisty stairs awaited us and all of our luggage.  Needless to say, we were more in shape after this trip than any other!

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

The space was light and bright with incredible canal views out of gorgeous large windows in the living room.

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

The windows have to be big because that is how they move furniture into these tall buildings.  

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

If you look at the tops of each of these buildings, there are hooks and pulleys that are used to hoist people’s belongings into their homes.  Talk about it being a pain to move! 😉

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

A beautiful deck on the back of the house had gorgeous views of the neighborhood and the garden/park area behind the houses. 

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

Looking back at these stairs I can’t believe I climbed them as much as I did! If you have young children this might be a concern for you, but they were fine with Andy and Ashley at ages 9 and 13. 

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

The wood beams on the ceiling were just to die for! SO much character. I love to stay in an historic building when I travel. I feel like it gives you a glimpse into the history of the city that you can’t get any other way. 

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

Upstairs were two comfortable rooms, one with a double bed (larger than a US double bed) and one with a Super King bed. If you are going to spend time traveling through Europe with a family, it might be helpful to familiarize yourself with European bed sizes. It can be a bit confusing for first-time visitors when trying to book a hotel or a private home to rent. Often times super king beds can be divided into twin beds which can be a good option if you need extra individual beds. There are many charts online that can help you understand those little details when choosing where to stay.

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

When we travel, especially for a longer period of time, it is essential to have separate rooms for our sanity.  Family hotels are great, and we use them all the time, but they rarely offer as much space as renting a whole home does unless you are paying an arm and a leg. 

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

Being able to stay in this traditional canal house, not only gave a little slice of life experience while we were in Amsterdam, but because it was in the heart of Amsterdam it gave us easy access to main attractions like the Anne Frank House, which was just a  short walk away.

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

Extra perks like access to the private garden and a deck to sit on overlooking it were really nice touches. 

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

If you are looking for a great place to stay in Amsterdam I highly recommend a traditional Amsterdam canal house along the Keizersgracht canal.  With it’s convenient location and beautiful views, you can’t go wrong.  Of course a stay in a private home comes with lots of benefits, but there are other things you will give up. There is no fitness center or on-site restaurant. Amenities like room service and a friendly staff to cater to your every need are things that you will have to be comfortable doing without. For us, the benefits of staying in a great location with access to things like local coffee shops and art galleries, and having a family room stocked with board games and a refrigerator to bring home snacks and cook on our own far outweighs the things we give up by staying at a hotel. 

tour a traditional amsterdam canal house

TIPS FOR CHOOSING A GOOD AIRBNB

If you are looking to travel in Europe (or anywhere else for that matter!) with your family, I highly recommend Airbnb.  I think the secret is looking for properties with 4-5 star reviews, and lots of them!  Then go one step further to really look at those reviews and see if they are genuine.  It is easy to tell if the reviewers are from many different places, and have left many different reviews themselves.  We found that in those cases, you could really trust that what you saw online would end up being just as wonderful in real life.  Our friend Shannon was the one that really encouraged us and kind of held our hand along the way initially with this process, and it worked out wonderfully.  It is such an economical way to stay and a great option for budget travelers and family  holidays. This whole 2 bedroom, 2 bath home with a washer and dryer and full kitchen cost us less than one hotel room would of, and because there were 4 of us, we would have been forced to book two hotel rooms. What a savings!

If you’re heading to other places in Europe, here are some more posts you don’t want to miss!  You can check out our entire Europe Travel Gallery to see all of our posts and helpful info.

Things to See in Europe

Tea at the Orangery | Riding Trains in Europe | Dublin Travel Guide | Paris Museum Pass | Best Family Hotel in Rome

Things to do in Europe

Visiting Bruges | Staying Connected in Europe | Best View in Paris | Amsterdam Canal House | Borough Market

Happy Travels!

Tammy

Tammy

Creative Director at Pink Peppermint Design
Tammy Mitchell is the founder and creative director of lifestyle blog pinkpeppermintdesign.com. Along with being a homeschooling mom of two kiddos, she is also an in-demand prop and event stylist, photographer, interior and graphic designer. On Pink Peppermint Design, she shares creative DIY projects, easy entertaining and gift ideas, inspiring interiors and events. She lives in Southern California, with her husband and two children.

Amsterdam canal house

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