Best things to do with teens and tweens in Amsterdam

The Upside Down & WONDR

Part immersive art installation, part Instagram fever dream, Europe’s largest interactive ‘Instagram museum’ is a surreal playground of neon, mirrors and giant ball pits. Located in Zuid, it’s technically a museum, but don’t expect hushed tones and glass cases: this place is made for jumping, posing and generally messing about. Teens can play dress-up and curate their grid, tweens can go full chaos mode, and yes, even adults have been known to crack a smile. Book ahead, because it gets busy.

For a similar vibe with even more sparkle, WONDR Experience’s giant glitter room, tub of teddy bears, and bonkers pink beach offer a feast for your feed. Looking for something new? The Museum of Illusions Amsterdam, which opened in the summer of 2025, combines mind-bending optical illusions with plenty of photo opps.

The Upside Down | Europaboulevard 5, Zuid

Teen-friendly eats

Hungry? Of course they are. Again! Luckily, Amsterdam is full of flavour-packed fuel-ups that hit the spot without killing the vibe. We know all the tasty, affordable places and won’t make them feel like they’re dining somewhere borderline tired. Burgers? We’ve rounded up the best buns in town. Roman-style, Neapolitan, or just damn tasty, take your pick from these perfect pizza spots. Dim sum and dumplings? Yes please. And, obviously, no Gen Z or Alpha outing would be complete without bubble tea.

Fabrique des Lumières, NXT & AMAZE

If traditional art museums spark groans, take them to the largest immersive experience centre in the Netherlands. Art doesn’t hang, it engulfs you at this colossal former gasworks factory in Westerpark. Masterpieces, historical and natural themes swirl and shimmer across vast industrial walls in a full-on sensory spectacle. It’s art, but with lasers and a soundtrack. Past shows have tackled everything from Van Gogh to Ancient Egypt and the deep sea, so there’s always something big and bold to take in.

Still craving digital drama? Noord-based NXT Museum explores the techy side of new media art, while AMAZE brings multi-sensory chaos with lights and soundscapes.

Fabrique des Lumières | Pazzanistraat 47, Westerpark

Retail therapy

Shopping in Amsterdam isn’t just for grown-ups with credit cards. Tweens and teens can flex their pocket money across the city. For mainstream brands and sneaker drops, head to Kalverstraat. Explore indie gems in the 9 Streets and Haarlemmerdijk and -straat. Or lose hours in De Pijp’s maze of trendy boutiques on streets like the Gerard Doustraat, with smoothie breaks built in. Amsterdam’s second-hand and streetwear style scenes are also serious fun. Check out our guides to vintage stores and streetwear style.

Curiosity overload

For expanding minds and short attention spans, Amsterdam serves up science, nature and utter weirdness in bite-sized brilliance. It’s educational. It’s bizarre. It’s exactly their sense of humour. And they might actually learn something in between all the shrieks and selfies. At NEMO Science Museum, they’ll launch rockets, make clouds and finally get to touch all the buttons they’re usually told not to.

ARTIS mixes planetarium gawping with microbe-spotting, creepy crawlies, snakes, lions and giraffes. BODY WORLDS dives under the skin of human bodies (literally), while Ripley's Believe It or Not goes full-on freakshow with shrunken heads, optical illusions and a giant robot made of car parts.

Aloha

Say hello to peak teen energy at this popular playground, conveniently located near Centraal Station. Part Hawaii, part high-score heaven, this is where tiki vibes meet full-throttle fun. There’s disco bowling under tropical lights, glow-in-the-dark mini golf that winds through a jungle of neon and a laser tag arena that’s basically a lava field for sibling warfare. It’s loud, chaotic, smells faintly of angst, and your tweens and teens will love every overstimulated second.

Need more joystick joy, button-bashing brilliance or laser-based justice? This list of  Amsterdam’s top arcade and game halls has extra ammo. Head to The Park Playground VR in the Houthavens for headset-fuelled heroics. Or visit Laser Tag Amsterdam, the city’s largest laser tag arena, where they can settle family disputes with laser fire. As you do.

Aloha | De Ruijterkade 151, Centrum

Time travel

History hits differently when it’s personal. At the Resistance Museum Junior in De Plantage, kids step into real stories of wartime choices, courage and confusion, told from the viewpoint of four kids between 9 and 14. Then there’s the Anne Frank House, which offers a quiet, powerful look into the life of Amsterdam’s most famous teenage diarist. Need something darker with a dose of drama? The Amsterdam Dungeon (ages 10+) delivers Amsterdam’s gory history with actors, special effects and just enough scream factor to impress a teen. It’s part education, part haunted house and yes, they will definitely make you go in first.

A’DAM Lookout

If your tweens and teens think skyline watching is ‘for life, not likes’, sit them in the Over The Edge swing on top of A‑DAM Lookout and watch the swagger wobble. Suspended 100 metres up, Europe’s highest swing delivers skyline thrills with bragging rights built in. Inside, a VR rollercoaster ride zips them across Amsterdam in under five minutes—no walking, just wow. The 360° viewing deck is pure Snap gold, with canals, rooftops and crane-spotting for the eagle-eyed. Are they willing to try anything ‘for the story’?

Just next door, This is Holland takes things airborne with a 5D flight simulator (think wind, mist and tulips at warp speed). It’s fun, fast and secretly educational. But you don't have to tell them that.

A'DAM Lookout | IJPromenade 4, Noord

Outdoor fun

Aim for one of these outdoor playgrounds when the teen energy hits boiling point and you want to get them moving (and perhaps even smiling). Amsterdam’s skateparks bring the grind, while summer means cannonballs at the city’s coolest outdoor swimming spots. Feeling brave? Take on climbing forests, parkour courses and zip lines from our list of outdoor and adventure activities. Or swap bikes for blades come winter at one of Amsterdam’s pop-up ice-skating rinks for all the chill, none of the lectures.