Add on what city to Amsterdam for weeklong trip?
 

Hi. My husband and I will be traveling to Europe for one week (arrive on a Friday or Saturday; leave the next Saturday). Amsterdam is my husband's #1 place to visit, so we're definitely doing that. I have read that three to four days is enough to fully do Amsterdam so am trying to decide how to spend the rest of the trip. A friend had added Paris and Normandy onto Amsterdam but that seems like too much for 1 week. I have been to Paris a few times but never to Normandy and am very interested! What do you think about Amsterdam and Normandy in that timeframe? If we do that, would you recommend driving or training? Or alternative recommendations for an add-on to Amsterdam for a 1-week trip?

Spend the week in the Netherlands, it is much more than just Amsterdam.
Normandy is a long way for a couple of days.

If you were to add anything to Amsterdam, I’d look at Belgium. Maybe visit Bruges? There’s plenty of WWII history in Belgium and Luxembourg. Go to the Ardennes and explore there.

Suggest you combine something closer to Amsterdam rather than trekking forever to Normandy.

My youngest and I did Paris and Amsterdam one trip. While that worked well with the train connections, we had been to Paris so many times before, we were more or less visiting an old friend rather than doing something really new. We made sure we did a lot of new things in Paris for that trip, but you get the drift.

Later on, my husband and I had combined Brussels (new for us!) and Amsterdam as our hotel centers because our goal was to see the work of as many Dutch and Flemish artists as possible while meeting up with daughters who at the time had to fly in from New York and Atlanta.

On that trip, we did several daytrips via rail: Delft, Den Hague, Bruges, Antwerp, etc.

Happy Planning,
AZ

You could do a tour of lower Netherlands by train.

You could take a train through to Trier and then down the Mosel

You could train to the Champagne region and Reims (go where the French kings were crowned)

You could go to Strasbourg by train.

Normandy is a large place with not really a great centre so a little harder to do.

If you decide on Belgium I'd recommend the north rather than the south.

When is your trip?
Amsterdam/Bruges is the well worn duo trip.
Cologne would be an easy train trip.
But why not have a look at what else there is here in the Netherlands?

I suggest Amsterdam and Nijmegen. Nijmegen, oldest city of the Netherlands with a Roman past and gorgeous scenery a 20 minute bus ride away (Berg en Dal and Beek are in a beautiful hilly (!) landscape). Nijmegen also gives easy access to Kleve across the border, or Arnhem, a bit further north. From Arnhem, Dusseldorf is near by train and so is Wesel, which gives access to Xanten and its very interesting archaeological park.

Very nice lodging to be had in Nijmegen too: cute country hotels, lovely B&Bs... a few days away from the hellscape busy city that is Amsterdam and a real change of pace. Nijmegen and Groesbeek were important in Operation Market Garden and Nijmegen was extensively bombed (just as bad as Rotterdam, in fact) Groesbeek has an interesting museum on Market Garden

https://vrijheidsmuseum.nl/

Nijmegen

BTW, you can easily spend a week in Amsterdam if you don't stay in the city all the time, but allow yourself some excursions. To the beach at Zandvoort, or a day away to Utrecht, or Den Haag or Delft, or even Rotterdam. Travel times are very short (the entire Randstad can be traveled to from Amsterdam within the hour) and trains are very frequent on the main routes, especially during weekdays (a train every 10 minutes)

Adding: Normandy is unrealistic. All you'll be doing is travelling with little time on the ground

I'd add Belgium or some other city in Netherlands.
No way would I add Normandy.

YOu can add Utrecht, Brussels, Bruges and/or Antwerp easily, pick one other base if you want .

You can easily add on Leiden, The Hague , Delft and Rotterdam, all wonderful places to explore in The Netherlands , so easy by train.

Draw a circle around Amsterdam of say 30 miles and you will find wonderful historic places to visit. Most of them can be reached from the Amsterdam Central Station by train or by bus. I'm naming a few. To the North: Broek in Waterland, Monnickendam (has the oldest functioning bell tower in the world, dating back to the 15th century), Marken
To the East (a twenty minute train ride) Weesp, Muiden and Naarden. The latter is one of the best preserved so-called fortified towns. Amersfoort.
When you visit The Netherlands please bear in mind that it has far, far more to offer than just Amsterdam.