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Treat the children to life aboard a houseboat. Amsterdam House has eight of them available for short or long rentals (from €150), as well as apartments and hotel rooms.

Made from three wellkept canal houses, the Wiechmann has been polishing its welcome for more than 50 years. Wooden floors, beams and panelling set off antique furniture and Oriental rugs, and the bedrooms, most with canal views, are attractively simple.

Far from the madding crowd on a residential backstreet, this spruce little hotel has decentsized bedrooms and a touch of style in its 19thcentury moulded ceilings. Breakfast is included in the room price.

Friendly and efficient, with business-like rooms – though no particular business facilities – the Atlas is in an interesting Art Nouveau house near Vondelpark. Currently being renovated.

For luxury away from the crowds, this modern hotel in a leafy street might fit the bill. With 124 rooms and suites, all with relaxing Jacuzzi baths, it’s smaller than many of the city’s five-stars, with a friendly atmosphere and an excellent restaurant, De Kersentuin.

A step from the main museums and elegant shopping, this four-star boutique hotel comprises three stylish 19th-century townhouses. Treats include free afternoon tea and a charming terrace.

Only in Amsterdam – an exclusive hotel, opened in 1998, for gay men into leather and bondage, with appropriate equipment in each room. It’s appropriately located too, near the “leather area” and Centraal Station.

The Golden Age lives on in this tranquil pair of 17th-century canal houses, filled from top to bottom with antiques. Breakfast beneath a chandelier in the ornate salon with a view of the garden. The bedrooms are individually decorated (and priced).

A straightforward citycentre business hotel with good business facilities and a leisure centre, and the bonus of Dorrius, a late 19thcentury Dutch restaurant (see Erwtensoep).

At the junction of Herensgracht and Reguliersgracht, and with views over both, this friendly hotel’s beamed bedrooms are bigger than most, and it’s close enough to the nightlife for breakfast to be optional.