CapShe1

I'm going to London during the Trooping of the Colour in June 2013. I think the parade is around June 15, 2013. I will be flying from the US to Europe. I've been to London and Paris before, although my stay in Paris was very short. I want to see more of Paris, ie museums, Versailles, catacombs. I've never been to Holland. I plan on being in Europe for 2 weeks. Can anyone suggest where I should begin my trip. I want to end the trip in London if possible. I know this trip is at the height of tourist season, so am I crazy to try to squeeze in 3 destinations? I plan on using the rail for sure. Thanks for any and all suggestions.

BigRuss

Not Holland - that's just a region. The nation is Netherlands.

Start in Netherlands and work west to Paris and then London.

nytraveler

Um, wouldn't that be south to Paris and then west to London.

jamikins

Whichever way you do it be sure you book open jaw flights, into say London and home from say Amsterdam, to avoid the cost and time of backtracking.

CapShe1

Thanks for the responses so far I appreciate it.

jamikins

To be honest it is easy to travel between these places so I would see where you can get the best deal in flights.

London - Paris you use the eurostar www.eurostar.com

London - Amsterdam - 1 hour flight, lots of options, or you can take an overnight ferry - look up Dutch Flyer

Amsterdam - Paris - easy train ride between the two

So you can really do them in any order.

BigRuss

More south than west, but west still

Cap - how long is your trip?

CapShe1

Big Russ, I'm leaving June 1st and need to be in London June 15th for the Trooping of the Colour. The dates are flexible as long as I can make the parade.

jent103

Open-jaw flights would be ideal (and likely save you a little bit of money backtracking), but as jamikins said, it's easy to get between those three cities. I'd maybe start with three days in Amsterdam, take the train to Paris for 5-6 days, and then finish up in London. Saves you from having to deal with CDG airport (a minor consideration, but a plus nevertheless).

janisj

Will you have access/tickets to the Trooping? One can't just attend.

BTW -June is not the height of the tourist season. Most European/British schools don't let out til July so "high season" is really squeezed in to about 6 or 7 weeks through the end of Augst.

PAplumber

I agree on the open jaw into Amsterdam out of London, now the time line 7 days in Amsterdam 7 days in Paris and make the parade with hours to spare, or not. What ever you do have fun

janisj

BTW - if you don't have 'connections' to ensure you get Trooping the Colour tickets, there are two dress rehearsals the previous 2 weekends.

You can apply for tickets to both rehearsals and the actual Trooping but it is much easier for the rehearsals.

CapShe1

Thanks so much about the ticket info for the Trooping of the Colour. The last time I attended the parade was in 1998, many moons ago. While I'm in Paris I want to visit Versailles. Should I schedule a whole day to visit the palace?? Look forward to responses, you guys are giving great advice. Thanks

bilboburgler

Hi Cap. Big Russ is absolutely right about the country name, though I doubt if virtually any Brit would call it the Netherlands when they could call it Holland. "You say Venice, I say Venezia"

Starting in Schipol (sort of swallow the sh and stick a little "k" in there and you get the pronunciation about right) and catch the bus into Amsterdam. Stay in town and use Trams to visit a fair range of museums. I'd book a smaller hotel now rather than international rubbish but that is up to you. If Amsterdam is too big for you stay in Haarlam (also on the bus) and catch a train into Amsterdam for the museums.

While everyone talks about bikes in the Netherlands, public transport is the real thing. So you can take trains off to say the Kroeller Muller park (and museum) which is, for me the high point of any Dutch visit.

There are also a number of medieval walled (moated) towns to visit which look a fair bit like Bruges but with fewer tourists.

Stena line do a direct ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich, which then needs a Train into London. Again use the train to get there from Amsterdam and you could visit Brielle on the way to see an ancient town surrounded by docks and wind turbines. Dutch trains at http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home

Tourist Info at http://www.holland.com/global/Touris.../Amsterdam.htm (see even their tourist office calls it Holland)

Now there is a crazy way to get to UK from Holland and that is to do it by bicycle. But I'll leave that unless you want info.

bilboburgler

Hotel hotelbrouwer.nl‎
B&B via http://www.bb-holland.nl/ this means you get to meat real dutch people or
http://www.bedandbreakfast.eu/en/the-netherlands

BigRuss

Versailles will need a day - time to get there, fight the immense crowds throughout the palace grounds, see what you're going to see, return to Paris. Do NOT underestimate the crowds you will see there - we were there in May on a sketchy overcast day that turned rainy and the place overflowed with tourists.

How much time will you have in London? I would NOT try to do a week in Amsterdam, week in Paris and get to the event in London justintime.

hetismij2

Well Amsterdam is in Holland, as well as the Netherlands,
and even the Dutch refer to Holland when it comes to football .
Depending on where your hotel is you can get either a bus or the train from Schiphol (note the spelling Bilbo ) into the city.

You can get a through train ticket which covers the ferry if you fancy going that route. Go overnight, book a cabin and save on a night in a hotel. http://www.stenaline.nl/en/ferry/london/

jent103

Half a day would have been sufficient for me at Versailles, but that's partially because the gilt and glamour aren't so much my thing, and partially because the crowds (even in early March) were thick enough that I just wanted to see it and leave. If it's a major point of interest for you, plan on a full day. It's just a day trip, so if you do end up coming back earlier you can always do something else in Paris.

bilboburgler

If I could spell burglar I could spell Schiphol hetismij

CapShe1

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. Big Russ, I would like to spend 4-5 days in Paris, I really have to visit the Louvre 2 or 3 times. Now as for London, I want to spend 3-4 days. It would be nice to go to Scotland if I could squeeze that in. I've been to the English Countryside so I've got that covered. A few excursions trips to the French countryside would be cool.

So maybe,

Holland 3-4 days
Paris 4-5 days
London 3 days
Scotland 2 days ?
Depart from London back to USA ?