Kid-friendly places in Zaandam
12 places in Zaandam, the Netherlands, where children are actually welcome — what each one is, what it costs, and what to watch for. 11 carry a warning worth reading before you go.
Play cafés2
- DarteldomeIndoor playground
Big, recently renovated indoor playground for toddlers up, lots of activities, bar with snacks, affordable entry that includes kids' lunch, lemonade and a bag of sweets, good for birthdays
No shoes (bring anti-slip socks); lockers need a 20-cent coin
- Family VillagePlay cafe
Family cafe with indoor and outdoor play, tasty fresh food (all halal), good coffee and pancakes, friendly staff, free parking at the door
Gets very crowded with limited tables; prices have risen and service can feel pushy; closed Mon-Tue
Sports4
- Bouldergym BAZClimbing
Bouldering gym with routes from beginner to advanced and a top-floor training zone, terrace with Zaan-river views, food and drinks, runs kids' birthday parties, free street parking
Holds a bit worn/slippery; food service slow
- Circus SensationAcrobatics / aerial
Friendly, experienced circus hosts running active children's parties with a workshop and a private cinema session to finish, good with big groups
Mainly party bookings
- Skatepark ZaandamSkate / BMX / roller
Big covered skatepark under the highway so you can skate in any weather, varied lines, bowls and jumps, changing graffiti, not too crowded at weekends, supermarket nearby
Surrounding surface is uneven tiling; some litter; tricky entrance to find
- Street Jump ZaanstadTrampoline park
Big trampoline park with an inflatable-cushion (luchtkussen) area, lots of room to jump and tumble without collisions, well-ventilated, fast-food cafe; ~7km north in Wormerveer
Some smoking-smell reports; closed Tuesdays
Classes3
- Atelier AinoaArt
Cosy ceramics studio with a lovely instructor teaching handbuilding and wheel work, freedom to experiment, good for beginners and dates, easy by train and bus
- De Zaanse MuziekfabriekMusic
Central music school with enthusiastic, skilled teachers and beautiful studios, fun challenging lessons across instruments, good communication
Closed weekends
- Fluxus Centrum voor de KunstenMusic
Zaanstad's arts centre offering music, dance and art lessons for all ages including toddler music and dance, soundproof rooms, a music library and reasonable prices
Admin can be hard to reach by email
Adventure3
- De Fronik BoerderijPetting farm
Cute free volunteer-run farm with a roaming donkey, chickens, a pig and a peacock, toddler toy trucks, a room for coffee and snacks, sells cheap eggs and veg, kayak hire in season
Cargo bikes may not be allowed inside for insurance reasons
- Kinderboerderij De VeldmuisPetting farm
Warm, community-run free petting farm with a historic windmill nearby: goats and sheep you can walk in among, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigs, a playground and toys, free tea/coffee, toilet on site
Runs on donations; split opening hours
- Stadsboerderij DarwinparkPetting farm
Lovely, clean city farm in Darwinpark with horses, goats, sheep and fish, a playground, water play and a little cable ferry, calm and family-friendly, cheap cafe
Closed Mondays
Other cities
- Aarhus
- Alicante
- Amsterdam
- Antwerp
- Apeldoorn
- Barcelona
- Basel
- Bergen
- Berlin
- Bern
- Bilbao
- Bremen
- Brussels
- Copenhagen
- Cork
- Dortmund
- Dresden
- Dublin
- Düsseldorf
- Enschede
- Essen
- Frankfurt
- Galway
- Geneva
- Gothenburg
- Graz
- Hamburg
- Handen
- Hannover
- Helsinki
- Innsbruck
- Klagenfurt
- Köln
- Lahti
- Lausanne
- Leipzig
- Liège
- Lille
- Limerick
- Linz
- Lyon
- Madrid
- Málaga
- Malmö
- Milan
- Munich
- Napoli
- Nuremberg
- Odense
- Oslo
- Oulu
- Palermo
- Paris
- Rome
- Rotterdam
- Salzburg
- Sevilla
- Stavanger
- Stockholm
- Stuttgart
- Tampere
- Torino
- Tromsø
- Trondheim
- Turku
- Uppsala
- Utrecht
- Valencia
- Vienna
- Waterford
- Zürich
Every place here is in the Kindering app too, on one map with the rest of Zaandam, sorted by how far each one is from you.
Missing a place, or one has closed? Tell us.