Lordy

Hi again,
we will be getting off a cruise at Amsterdam ( Rotterdam ) and then need to get to Paris. We will have 4 days and 3 nights to do this.
What are your must sees to do along the way?
Where would you recommend staying for each of the 3 nights?
Thanks in advance
Donna Australia

hetismij

Does your cruis end at Amsterdam or Rotterdam? Two very different cities. I would spend at least one day in Amsterdam if that is where you dock, and you could consider it even if you dock in Rotterdam, though you will then need to get a train there.
Otherwise the usual suspects to spend your time in are Brugge and or Ghent. Or maybe you could try Lille instaed of Ghent.

ira

Hi L,

How much time will you have spent in Amsterdam? It's worth 3 nights.

Brugge/Bruges is worth an overnight.

Lordy

Hi again,
the cruise ends in Rotterdam and we have 3 nights before the cruise leaves in Amsterdam, so that is covered. Do you have any other ideas for over night stops and must sees.
This will be our first time in this part of Europe.
Also any recommendations for Amsterdam/
Hotels and must sees???
Thanks again
Donna

Lordy

Any ideas????
Donna

Tulips

Hi Donna; it's hard to answer your question without knowing what you like to do, and how much you want to spend on a hotel. I would say in Amsterdam visit the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, Stedelijke Museum if you're into more modern art.

In Belgium you could visit Antwerp, Brussels, Brugge.

But without knowing what kind of things you like to do, it's hard to recommend anything!

Lordy

Hi Tulips,
we have never been to Amsterdam, so are not sure of the sites to see.
We can spend around $250 Australian a night on a hotel.
We like to do our own thing and are interested in seeing the attractions, learning about new places, shopping, eating out and having a couple of drinks.
Thanks again
Donna

Tulips

Look at the destination guide for Amsterdam on Fodor's, or the 'best in 3 days'. Still, if you don't like to see paintings, there's no point going to the Rijksmuseum. In Amsterdam, I like to just wander around the canals; lots of shops, restaurants. Try an indonesian meal called 'rijsttafel'; its a collection of small dishes to share. Kantjil is nice. Cafe Luxembourg and next door Cafe Hoppe are popular for drinks.
I have no idea how much 250 Australian is. Search this forum for hotel recommendations. The College is a hip new place; the staff are all students, but it's a very stylish hotel. The bar there is popular too. Pulitzer is good. We've stayed in Jan Luyken (www.bilderberg.nl), very close to the museums, and that was very reasonable.

Lordy

Any other ideas or must sees on the way?
Where would you suggest we stay for the 3 nights???
Thanks again Tulips for you ideas.
Donna

Tulips

Stop in Antwerp for a day. Visit Rubens' house, the Fine Arts Museum, the cathedral, walk around the old town, do some shopping, visit the Fashion Museum if that interests you, or some of the smaller art museums.
The Hilton is not a bad place to stay, right in the center of town, and usually good rates.

TommieG

Nice cities along the way from Amsterdam to Paris:
- Leiden (historic university city, evry nice city center)
- The Hague (the government-capital of the netherlands, nice historic city center, near the beach; Scheveningen and Kijkduin)
- Delft (also a very nice historic university city)
- Antwerp
- Brussels
- Lille (historic city in the north of France, really nice and not that well known by tourists)

In Amsterdam make sure to take a boat-ride on the canal. The "Jordaan" is a very nice neighbourhood (behind the palace on the Dam and near the Anne-Frank-house) just to walk around a bit. Nice small streets, some canals, a lot of little shops and restaurants.

For shopping: Kalverstraat, Nieuwendijk and Leidsestraat for the average hig-street-shopping. The area around the Rijskmuseum (PC Hoofstraat, Van Baerlestraat) for the more up-scale shopping.

The Vondelpark is a noce park to relax a bit. Near the PC Hoofstraat, Leidseplein (restaurants and bars) and the Rijskmuseum.

worldtalker

one place most folks don't visit -- but that we found fascinating -- is Waterland. It's on a bridge down to belgium and you can see how the industriuous dutch have reclaimed their land from the water and protected themselves. the bridge actually lets down a curtain of metal to block the North sea from surging onto the lowlands. 30 years ago, many Dutch died in such a flood. it's fascination and i really recommend it.

So stop on your drive.

Brugge is great too and so is Antwerp.

And check out iJourneys.com walking tours of Paris and Amsterdam. way cool

Lordy

Thank you all for your great suggestions. They are much appreciated.
Donna
Australia