Amsterdam
 

Hi everyone

I am thinking of going to Amsterdam in the late sping early summer.. Then I am meeting a friend in London....before I meet my friend I am thinking of taking the train else where to see another place... Any suggestions? Brussels?

Thanks

How long will you be in Amsterdam? There are lots of things to see in the Netherlands on a day trip, so you don't need to waste time packing and unpacking.

What are your interests?

Late spring/early summer would provide you with some time for tulips perhaps. More exact dates would give us an idea if the Keukenhof Gardens (a bus ride way) would be good.

If you are into art, then after Amsterdam's delights I'd head into Den Hague/Delft (short train trip). The Mauritshuis alone is worth a trip to Europe. Let's talk "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and then move onto more.

So what do you really want to see?

If you want to stay in Holland, consider Maastricht, too. We found it a charming small city,which was founded by the Romans as a place to ford the Maas River. There's also an interesting huge salt dome on the outskirts that is filled with caves and tunnels, many years old. It was used for storage of art works during WWII, for a place for People to hide from the Germans, etc. You gan go on a tour of it. In the winter there is a huge art market there. It is worth a day or two.

It occurs to me you could also start your trip in Copenhagen and then train to Amsterdam and on to London. Copenhagen is a great place.

I am thinking of a two week trip in total. I will be in the Netherlands by my self.... I am into art, food, history, culture, seeing the real country!

I am going to need lots of help!

<i>I am thinking of a two week trip in total.</i>

So if you have 2 weeks before you meet your friend in London, you can easily cover quite a lot of the Netherlands and/or Belgium.

Amsterdam for a few days is a good start, then the suggestions of Den Haag and Maastricht are excellent and should be included. If your visit coincides with Keukenhof (usually ends at the end of May) then definitely make a day trip to the tulips. Another city in the Netherlands to consider is Groningen - not a big city, but a pretty university town and quite interesting.

Belgium, particularly Brussels, is a must if you want more art. The Royal Museums of Fine art are a good starting point (the encompase the Museum of Ancient Art and the Museum of Modern Art), and for architechture in the Art Nouveau style you can't go past anything by Victor Horta. A lot of people deride Burssels, but I've always enjoyed time there. However you should also head out to Brugge/Bruges for sheer prettiness of a town, plus it's a good starting point to visit the WWI sites of the area.

That should fill 2 weeks nicely before you catch the Eurostar from Brussels to London (book well ahead for good ticket prices), but let us know if you need more ideas.

I found the museums and art much better in Antwerp than Brussels.

Ah yes <i>avalon</i>, good point about Antwerp. I'd suggest throwing in Ghent as well, but that might take things over 2 weeks. At any rate <i>bjc280</i>, you have some more ideas on cities to consider for your trip.