Are you looking for a day out or a weekend trip with the whole family. Then visiting Hoorn with kids is a good idea. This historic city in North Holland is located on the Markermeer and has fun and educational trips and activities all year round. There are family-friendly museums, adventurous indoor and outdoor playgrounds, but the most fun, of course, is a ride on the famous Museum Steam Tram Hoorn-Medemblik. What makes the city especially fun is the coziness of the old town, the many restaurants and coffee shops for the whole family and the small scale, because almost everything in the old town is within walking distance.
What to do in Hoorn with kids
There are plenty of fun things to do in Hoorn with the family. Below we list some of these children’s activities in Hoorn.
#1 Museum steam streetcar Hoorn-Medemblik
One of the biggest recommendations for visiting Hoorn with kids is the Museum Steam Tram Hoorn-Medemblik. This traveling museum takes you back in time. The ride starts in Hoorn and passes picturesque villages such as Twisk and Opperdoes and ends in Medemblik. What makes it extra fun is that the conductors and drivers wear period clothing. This really makes you escape from reality for a while.
When you arrive in Medemblik, you can extend this special experience a little with a boat trip on the IJsselmeer on the historic ship “Friesland. In the last century, this ship operated as a ferry between Harlingen and Terschelling, but since 2002 the Friesland has been sailing for the Museum Steam Tram between Enkhuizen and Medemblik.
The boat trip is about an hour and fifteen minutes and goes from Medemblik to Enkhuizen. The boat also makes a stop at the Zuiderzee Museum. From Enkhuizen, you then easily catch the (boring) NS train back to Hoorn station.
The Museum Steam Tram runs on fixed days during the season and in the summer vacations there is an extended timetable.
The steam streetcar is very popular among visitors at home and abroad, so it is best to order tickets in advance online. Prices are from €16.50 for adults and €10.00 for kids. Kids under the age of four travel for free. You can also buy a discounted combination ticket that includes the train ride and boat trip. Tickets for the Zuiderzee Museum are exclusive.
#2 Playhorn and Waterhorn
Are you visiting Hoorn with kids in the summer? Then recreational area De Speelhoorn and swimming pool De Waterhoorn are a wonderful stopover for all members of the family. Located on the outskirts of town, De Speelhoorn is fun for young and old alike. There are high climbing frames, slides, a cable car and even a water playground.
Besides the playground equipment, there is also plenty of space to enjoy the sun and picnic. You can bring your own food without any problems and in addition there is a small kiosk with some snacks and drinks. You pay €1 admission per kid, but it’s more than worth it. Adults can enter for free.
Within walking distance of the Speelhoorn is the swimming pool De Waterhoorn. Here you will find several pools, including a large competition pool, a recreational pool with a rapid and fantastic slide. Of course there is a special toddler pool for the little ones. In summer, the outdoor pool with sunbathing area is also open. Kids up to three years of age get free admission to the Water Horn and adults pay €6.50.
As in most other pools, swimming without a swimming certificate is not permitted here without butterflies or other floats. There is plenty of free parking around the Speelhoorn and Waterhoorn. This is also a great activity if the weather is a bit less in Hoorn and you still want to do something with the kids in town.
#3 Museum of the Twentieth Century
Not only the Museum Steam Tram will take you back in time, as the Museum of the Twentieth Century will also take you back to other times. While visiting Hoorn with kids, everyone in the family will have fun at this museum.
For many parents and grandparents, the decorated living rooms with old televisions and retro toys will evoke many memories, while young visitors will marvel at the crazy world of yesteryear.
Inside the museum is a reconstruction of an old living room from the 1940s, including furniture and decorations from that era. There is also a reconstructed classroom, where you can sit in the wooden school desks, and an old shopping street, with shop windows and interiors of the stores of the time. But the real crowd-puller is the exhibition LEGO in the Museum.
In three halls, (young) visitors will discover all the beauty of 90 years of LEGO. There are wooden toys from the first LEGO collections to modern LEGO sets. Of course, buildings such as the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower cannot be missed. For our daughter, the special construction and play corner was the highlight of the museum, here she, like many other kids, could not be left out.
The Museum of the Twentieth Century is open seven days a week. Adults pay €11 and kids aged 4 to 16 pay €6. With a Museum Card, admission is free.
#4 Fairytale Wonderland Enkhuizen
About a twenty-minute drive from Hoorn is Fairy Tale Wonderland. This magical theme park for young kids has been popular for generations. Years ago I visited this park with my grandparents, and nowadays my parents take every opportunity to travel to Fairytale Wonderland with my little daughter.
One of the most famous and beloved attractions is the Fairytale Forest. In this forest, you walk past lifelike fairy houses from the stories of Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. In addition, there is the gnome village. Gnomes live and work in this miniature world. Young kids can take a look inside the houses themselves and even give the gnomes a hand here and there.
There are also several attractions, such as the Fencepedition, in which you come face to face with a friendly witch, Jaap and the Beanstalk and the
Pied Piper of Hamelin. But the park’s very best attractions remain the float boats and the train. Fairytale Wonderland is unfortunately not open all year.
In 2025, the season starts on April 12 and is open daily through the end of October. During the Christmas vacations, Fairytale Wonderland is transformed into a winter fairyland with thousands of lights and a cozy Christmas atmosphere. Tickets are available from €15. Kids under the age of two may enter for free. For more information, please visit the website of Sprookjeswonderland Enkhuizen.
#5 Bakery Museum
In Medemblik, you can make a stop at Bakery Museum De Oude Bakkerij. This museum is known as the “tastiest museum in the Netherlands,” and you don’t earn such a name lightly. As soon as you enter, you can smell the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread and other sweets. The museum of course houses a bakery where demonstrations are given daily from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Kids are also actively involved in preparing all the goodies. For example, they can decorate cookies for free and of course taste everything. Furthermore, the museum organizes really fun workshops like cocoa painting and sugar pulling. After such fun and especially delicious activities, you can hardly leave the museum without taking something tasty with you.
Of course, we’ve thought of that, too, and you’ll have plenty to choose from in the authentic bakery store. Bakery Museum The Old Bakery is open year-round from Tuesday to Sunday. During school vacations, the museum is also open on Mondays. Ticket prices range from €9.75 for adults to €6.50 for young visitors. Kids up to 2 years old can enter for free.
If you are visiting Bakery Museum The Old Bakery by car, it is best to park near the museum, as there is a parking zone right in front of the door with a maximum parking time of one hour.
Family-friendly hotel Hoorn
You can stay in Hoorn with kids at a number of accommodations with a family with kids. The choice is not huge, but there are certainly some nice and family-friendly accommodations among them. Click on the blue link for more information.
Budget accommodation: B&B Posthoorn
Mid-range accommodation: Hotel the Magnet
Luxury accommodation: Heavens Hotel
Also check out the entire list of family-friendly accommodations in Hoorn.
Tips Hoorn with kids
Best travel time Horn with kids
Like many other destinations in the Netherlands, visiting Hoorn with kids is fun year-round. In spring and summer, the terraces are full and there are many fun activities on and around the water. That is also the best time to visit the Play Horn, the Water Horn and the Hollow Spherical Tree.
But also in the winter months there is plenty to do in Hoorn with the family. Especially around the Christmas period a lot is organized in the city center
with a nice Christmas market and other activities. Are you planning to visit Hoorn with kids during the summer vacations? On the third Monday of August there is Lappendag.
On this day there are more than 250 stalls with rags of fabric, clothing and other great deals. This is one of the biggest holidays of the year and definitely recommended if you are looking for crowds, fun and bargains.
Of course, keep in mind that even in the Netherlands there can be rain in the summer months. Fortunately, there are plenty of activities in Hoorn that are indoors, so a little less weather basically does not have to be a problem during a city trip to this city with the family.
Transportation in Horn
Hoorn is easily accessible by car, bicycle and public transportation. Hoorn has a train station near the center with good connections to Haarlem, Utrecht and Amsterdam. Furthermore, it is easy to reach by car and there is also more than enough parking space. Next to the station is a huge parking lot where you can park all day for € 3.20.
You can also park under Schouwburg het Park within walking distance of the center. There you pay €2,- or €5,50 per day. On shopping Sundays, you can park here for free. Once you arrive in Hoorn with kids, the city is easy to explore on foot or by bike.
The center is small, cozy and quiet, compared to, say, Amsterdam or Utrecht. For sporty families, it can also be fun to rent a bike in Hoorn with kids and cycle a bit along the harbor and IJsselmeer.
Family-friendly restaurant Hoorn
You can also have a great meal in Hoorn with kids. You have several nice family-friendly restaurants in Hoorn. We list some of them:
Fun Kids Cafe: This cafe is all about the kids. In the middle of the restaurant is a playground with books, a play kitchen, a montessori rack with slide and lots of other toys. The menu is also completely geared to the smallest visitors.
They can choose from princess and dino pancakes including bright colors and glitter, but there are also healthy options on the menu such as hummus sandwiches and fruit.
Furthermore, high chairs and cribs are available. Planning to visit Hoorn with kids soon? Then check the website of Pret in advance. This is because they regularly have meet & greets with princesses or Bing, which is of course extra fun.
Grand café Turf: A restaurant with a sandbox in the middle? I could hardly believe it either, but it’s really true. At Grand café Turf, kids can go wild with buckets, shovels and diggers while parents are enjoying a tasty lunch or a cup of coffee. There is also a separate menu for the kids with tasty doughnuts, fruit snacks, bear sausage and frankfurters sandwiches.
These two restaurants are our favorite, but overall Hoorn is a very family-friendly city. Many restaurants and stores have play areas and children’s menus, making even a day of shopping in Hoorn with kids a treat for them.
About the author: along with her daughter and partner, Lesley is always looking for new adventures. Thanks to their love of the Spanish language and culture, they are most often found in Spain, Central and South America.
