6 Monuments & Statues in Utrecht That You Shouldn't Miss

Reviewed By GWright303

.....is undoubtedly how I would describe the Miffy Museum, if I was aged 2-3. Small people around that age will love this place. Miffy is a rabbit kids character, invented by a Dutch kids author, Dick Bruna. Our family visited here recently and had a ball. Our daughter (just over 2.5 yrs old) loved it. You start off your visit at a cloakroom, where you can use (free) lockers to store jackets etc. From there, you flow through the museum, (2 levels), encountering various interactive rooms and displays for children to play and learn. The rooms take their themes from topics various Miffy books, such as the home, school, transport, hospital etc. Each room has kid-scale furniture and items, for them to play with, learn about and explore. It's just amazing really, and I didn't see a single kid who was not busy and deeply engaged during our visit. The first zone is about the home and allows kids to explore various household rooms and their contents. At this age, they will recognise lots and enjoy exploring things they cannot touch at home (eg the cooker/oven). There was also a garden area and some books here. (Of course, most of the books were in Dutch, but we can forgive them that given the museum is in Utrecht!) You can tell most visiting adults (including me) are secretly jealous that the room contents are too small for them to try! My own....er, my daughters favourite bits were (i) the hospital zone, where they had little hospital uniforms for the visitors to try – one-piece costumes, which go on over clothes. And (ii) the road / transport zone which had driveable vehicles (including a daddy powered bus) and cool features such as a level crossing and traffic lights. Typically for a Dutch venue, the whole place was well thought out and very visitor-friendly, with lots of nice touches. (Imagine the complete opposite to a Scottish tourist venue, in every way – I say that as a Scotsman). The kid-sized toilets and sinks for example and the feeding area for babies, which even had a vending machine of baby food pouches. They had thought of everything. We had a great time and I am sure all families would enjoy a visit. Its lots of fun, delivered in an educational style. There is enough to do, to make it a reasonable length of visit, but its not too big as to be over-whelming for little ones. I think the age range I mention is ideal, but I am sure slightly older children would still enjoy it, especially if with younger siblings. Highly recommended. We were on holiday outside school holiday time, so it was not too busy during our visit. However I imagine the museum could get very busy at peak times, so probably best to be canny about your visiting time. NB – there is another venue (Centraal Museum) directly across the road, which has the ticket office and souvenir shop for the Miffy Museum. Grab your tickets in here before heading in. I can't remember the cost, but we were not appalled. The souvenir shop is good with stuff for any budget. Daughter got Miffy Jigsaws (4 in 1 box, no less) and Baby got some Miffy Baby Cultery. 2 happy children. The museum is in nice part of the City and is a short walk away from the Oudegracht canal which is pleasant to walk along and has lots of restaurants/cafes etc. I'd definitely go back, given the chance, once the younger one is at an appropriate age.