Madurodam
George Maduroplein 1
2584 RZ Den Haag
Nederland
+31 70 41 624 00
info@madurodam.nl
Open daily from
9.00 am to 6.00 pm
Today we are quickly at our destination, we are going to Madurodam. The Hague is not far from Rotterdam so we can get there very quickly and the park is already open at 9.00 am. When we arrive it is still quiet, so that's nice. It's different when we drive home three hours later.
As with all parks, you reserve a time slot here, but once inside you can stay as long as you want. Only Space Expo Noordwijk is a pleasant exception to this rule. There everyone leaves the museum after the tour so that the 1.5 meter rule can be properly executed.
Here the park quickly turns into an anthill. Everyone is walking back and forth and against the indicated direction. Everything for the photo opportunity!
On our first pictures you can see how quiet it is when we first arrived. We can look at everything in detail and for Puk it's great, because you don't have to queue at the interactive attractions. There are many in Madurodam and all children, big & small, enjoy themvery much.
There is a miniature funfair that comes to life when you put a 20 euro cent coin in it. The lights go on and the music starts playing and soon everything is moving. The merry-go-round turns, the bumper cars collide and on the roller coaster a cart rides slowly uphill. And then drive down at an emergency speed. Puk (and the other children watching) thinks it's wonderful!
A little further on it looks very familiar to us Rotterdammers! We see the Holland America Line with the gigantic cruise ships. Atour boat from the Spido sails in front. A little way down we also see Metro Station Blaak, with the 'Flying Saucer'.
Pump or drown! Save the villages from the water. When the water rises, you have to pump hard to keep the villages dry, otherwise the whole place will be flooded. You can't do it alone, it takes a lot of cooperation!
Children really enjoy operating the pumps and at the same time they learn something important about the Netherlands. Part of the Netherlands is below sea level and during spring tides 59% is vulnerable to flooding by the sea. That is why the dikes and dunes are so important.
The Netherlands is a country of water so there also is a lot of water to see in Madurodam. All kinds of ships sail in those waters, from little to large. For example, there is a cargo ship with fire in the hold and immediately the fire boat arrives. The children can pump water together and put out the fire. Great fun!
There are also container ships, tugboats and water taxis. Children can load the ships with containers and learn how to distribute the cargo on a ship. They can also load containers using an elevator, but you also have to work together to do that. All very educational and a lot of fun!
On arrival we received a card with which you can do various interactive things, such as be a DJ like Armin van Buuren, on the miniature stage. You can make your own dance music and scratch. It is striking that many parents can't get enough of this activity and their kids hardly get their turn ;)
Further on we come to the flower bulb fields of Aalsmeer, with the auction. There, a conveyor belt dumps the flower bulbs into a large container to be transported to the factory, which packs them. But to start the band you must have a 20 euro cent coin.
We see the Olympic Stadium of Madurodam, the windmills of Kinderdijk and many bridges, all in miniature. We can walk over some bridges. The children can operate sluices, with ships in them, to see how they work.
Then we haven't even mentioned the Madurodam trains! The trains run throughout the park, for example a freight train passes by and then it is the NS Intercity that races past. Children are squatting along the track, you can almost touch the trains. There comes the Thalys, which runs directly to Paris. Puk squats every few meters, he loves trains, he knows almost all of them.
The Maeslant Storm Surge Barrier at Hoek van Holland is also there, we are going there in a moment. In the same water swim lots and lots of carps and they are very nosy! Hopefully no Madurodam inhabitants will fall into the water, because the carps are of monstrous sizes.
Then we take a look at the Euromast and the SS Rotterdam, also called the Grand Old Dame. You can view both - if you were in Rotterdam anyway, but then on a large scale. The ship is now a hotel and actually also a kind of museum because you can get a guided tour. There is also catering so you can enjoy a drink outside on the deck. On the Euromast you can look out over the whole of Rotterdam in the lift, which is also a nice experience.
If you want to view everything in Madurodam in peace, it is best to reserve the first time slots, you can see that in the photo above. When we left at about half past one the park was really filling up. Also the parking lot, for which you have to pay 10.00 euros.
Madurodam was again a nice experience for Puk, we actually come every year. For small children there is a little Miffy playground and for the bigger kids there is another bigger playground. During the summer holidays a real Dakota is parked on the Madurodam site, the Flying Dutchman. You can have a look around inside but then you really have to stand in line. You can also play football here, in short there is plenty to do in Madurodam.
There is catering everywhere, both indoors and outdoors, outside you can buy poffertjes, coffee and slush puppies. Of course there is also the inevitable gift shop, ;) We'll stop by for a moment but it is hard to choose. Then it's been enough fun for today, we're going home.
We've had a marvelous time today, says Puk!