I am in the beginning planning stages of a trip in the fall (mid October)... Would love to see Amsterdam, but 10-12 days there is probably too much. I will be traveling with my sister, both in our 30s and have been to France and Belgium before.

What is a good match with Amsterdam? We like to spend our time eating, seeing the major sites and shopping. We like a more leisurely pace and don't want to change hotels every night.

We are OK to fly into Amsterdam and then out of another city (traveling by train between cities). We've been to Brussels (only liked somewhat) Ghent (LOVED), Bruges twice (like a lot) and I have a big love affair with Paris (been 4 times, my sister once and she likes it less).

Any ideas??

Thanks!!

What about London? Easy enough by train from Amsterdam.

amyb, thanks for the quick reply. I should have said the only place I'm not really interested in is London. Don't know why, but have never had the urge to go. Too bad cuz it would be so easy to fly direct from Halifax, NS.

Any other ideas?

I suggest you use the Search the Forums: box above and use *hours in Amsterdam* for your search. The what to do in Amsterdam question has been asked here many times and there is a large knowledge base on Fodor's. For specifics post again. Several of us can provide more information.

Spaarne, thanks, I have searched lots and most options are to pair Amsterdam with Brussels or Paris. The what to do is not an issue, we always find things to do and buy guidebooks and research before we get there.

I do know much about Germany... would that be a good option?

Ooops last line should read I <b> don't </b> know much about Germany!

Are you interested in seeing any other parts of the Netherlands? There are many interesting and quaint towns to visit that you can get to by train...Delft,Haarlem,Gouda,The Hague, etc. Plus you can take bus tours out of Amsterdam to various towns, such as Volendam.

jodej, I'd love to see more of the country yes. Last year we did 4 days in Brussels, 5 days in Ghent and 2 in Bruges and I liked how that was spread out. The towns you mentioned do sound lovely... I'm getting a Netherlands travel book next week and hope to read up on each of these specifically.

What would be a reasonable amount of time in Amsterdam and a couple other cities? Is Rotterdam worth a couple nights?

The other option is to do Amsterdam, Antwerp (that we skipped last time) and finish with 5 nights in Paris, but that seems like a lot of traveling.

Antwerp is a nice city and a easy ride by train. I love shopping in Antwerp.
Maastricht is also a nice option, the south of Holland has a different feel.

Thanks Marijke! It seems to make more sense flying into Brussels and doing the rest by train than to go via Amsterdam. One less airport stop and instead of an 8 am return flight, there is a more sensible 1:30 pm one from Brussels. Small details to some, but matters a lot to me.

I'm excited now to start planning more concretely! Thanks for all the help and ideas

How about a trip to the Moselle River valley in Germany? Cochem, Koblenz, other nice places. Then home from Frankfurt?

The amount of time you spend in Amsterdam would depend on whether you are going to use it as a base to go to other locations in Holland. You could for sure spend 4 or 5 days just seeing the sights in Amsterdam.

I have been to Rotterdam but our trip there was to see where my husbands father grew up. Rotterdam is more of a modern city and it didn't seem to have the charm that the rest of the Netherlands does. I can't really comment on whether you would want to spend time there.

We combined Paris with the Netherlands our last trip in 2009. It is only a 4 hour train ride. We spent 5 days in Paris, then 3 days in Amsterdam, and the rest of our two week holiday was spent in various towns in NL. Our last couple of nights were spent in Gouda, which was a lovely way to end the holiday.

You could definately stop in Antwerp, that was our plan the last time, but we didn't get time to do it.