Anyone bored and feel like planning my trip to Brussels, Paris & Amsterdam?
Jun 11th, 2007, 02:19 PM
#1
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Anyone bored and feel like planning my trip to Brussels, Paris & Amsterdam?
Okay, so I normally LOVE to plan my trips, I think it is almost as fun as going on the trips. But this is the situation - I leave for Europe in a week, I am completely slammed at work and am, realistically, going to have minimal time to plan between now and then. I know we will figure it out as we go if need be and will have a great time . . . but if anyone is bored and wants to make some suggestions feel free! I've managed to get all of the hotels booked plus a day trip to Champagne. So this is the agenda:
Day 1 - flight to Brussels, immediate train to Paris
Day 2 - Paris
Day 3 - Paris
Day 4 - day trip to Reims/Champagne tours
Day 5 - train to Brussels in a.m.
Day 6 - Brussels
Day 7 - train to Amsterdam at some point (no reservation)
Day 8 - Amsterdam
Day 9 - Amsterdam, train to Brussels in p.m. (to fly out from Brussels)
Day 10 - fly home
We are a late twenties/early thirties couple and are on a reasonably tight budget. We like to see some usual tourist attractions but also enjoy getting off the beaten path and checking out restaurants, etc. frequented by locals. In a prior post many of you suggested adding a day trip to Bruge but I think that would just be too much in this packed schedule, so I'm mainly looking for suggestions in the cities we're already visiting. Thanks!
Day 1 - flight to Brussels, immediate train to Paris
Day 2 - Paris
Day 3 - Paris
Day 4 - day trip to Reims/Champagne tours
Day 5 - train to Brussels in a.m.
Day 6 - Brussels
Day 7 - train to Amsterdam at some point (no reservation)
Day 8 - Amsterdam
Day 9 - Amsterdam, train to Brussels in p.m. (to fly out from Brussels)
Day 10 - fly home
We are a late twenties/early thirties couple and are on a reasonably tight budget. We like to see some usual tourist attractions but also enjoy getting off the beaten path and checking out restaurants, etc. frequented by locals. In a prior post many of you suggested adding a day trip to Bruge but I think that would just be too much in this packed schedule, so I'm mainly looking for suggestions in the cities we're already visiting. Thanks!
Jun 11th, 2007, 02:35 PM
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Whew! I'm tired just looking at that itinerary!
Day 2 - You're going to be so tired from the trip, you probably want to stick close to your hotel area. Dump your luggage in the room, eat a light lunch or snack, then take a nap for about an hour. Get up and hit the streets. See as much as you can until you get hungry again.
Day 3- Plan day 3 while you're at dinner on day 2. Make it away from your area, do the Islands, Notre Dame, Eifel Tower area, maybe even Montmartre.
Day 4- drink Champagne. Lots of champagne.
Day 5 thru 9 - Someone else will have to help you there because I'm not familiar with those areas. If not, see day 4.
Day 2 - You're going to be so tired from the trip, you probably want to stick close to your hotel area. Dump your luggage in the room, eat a light lunch or snack, then take a nap for about an hour. Get up and hit the streets. See as much as you can until you get hungry again.
Day 3- Plan day 3 while you're at dinner on day 2. Make it away from your area, do the Islands, Notre Dame, Eifel Tower area, maybe even Montmartre.
Day 4- drink Champagne. Lots of champagne.
Day 5 thru 9 - Someone else will have to help you there because I'm not familiar with those areas. If not, see day 4.
Jun 11th, 2007, 02:43 PM
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This is what we did in April: (we've been to all these cities before)
Amsterdam
- Houseboat Museum
- Amsterdam Historisch Museum
- rented bikes at Mac Bike (by Leidseplein) and rode to Rembrandt Park and a little bit around Jordaan
- relaxed at Vondelpark
Brussels
- Grand Place stroll
- Theatre Troon puppetry
- City Museum (Mannequin Pis costumes; also some nice artwork)
- watch people take pictures of Mannequin Pis statue
- relaxed at Parc de Bruxelles
- looked for some of the Comic Strip Murals
Paris
- Musee Jacquemart Andre
- Musee de l'Orangerie
- National History: Paleontology museum (cool)
- Jardins des Plantes
- inside visit of Eglise Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois
- photos of pretty gardens at Square Batignolles
- relaxed on Champ de Mars
- relaxed in Jardin de Luxembourg
- daytrip to Chateau Malmaison
If you haven't been before, you can just go print off the "Destinations" section on Frommers.com and Fodors.com for each city. This is seriously good enough for a few days.
Amsterdam
- Houseboat Museum
- Amsterdam Historisch Museum
- rented bikes at Mac Bike (by Leidseplein) and rode to Rembrandt Park and a little bit around Jordaan
- relaxed at Vondelpark
Brussels
- Grand Place stroll
- Theatre Troon puppetry
- City Museum (Mannequin Pis costumes; also some nice artwork)
- watch people take pictures of Mannequin Pis statue
- relaxed at Parc de Bruxelles
- looked for some of the Comic Strip Murals
Paris
- Musee Jacquemart Andre
- Musee de l'Orangerie
- National History: Paleontology museum (cool)
- Jardins des Plantes
- inside visit of Eglise Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois
- photos of pretty gardens at Square Batignolles
- relaxed on Champ de Mars
- relaxed in Jardin de Luxembourg
- daytrip to Chateau Malmaison
If you haven't been before, you can just go print off the "Destinations" section on Frommers.com and Fodors.com for each city. This is seriously good enough for a few days.
Jun 12th, 2007, 04:45 AM
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Thanks! Wow, Travelnut, that's a lot of museums. The houseboat museum in Amsterdam sounds fun, though, and I know I want to relax in Vondelpark, I love the parks in European cities. And I'll be sure to follow Linda's instructions for day 4 
Jun 12th, 2007, 09:53 AM
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Amsterdam:
- add a canal cruise, Anne Frank house and Van Gogh Museum and you've got plenty to do
Brussels:
- has a LOT of interesting-sounding musuems that we haven't been to
Paris, the basics:
- Notre Dame
- Saint Chapelle if it's sunny
- Louvre & Jardin de Tuileries
- Musee d'Orsay
- Eiffel Tower
- Seine cruise (sunset is nice)
- Jardin de Luxembourg
- wander the Marais on Sunday
- tourist-watching at Sacre Coeur (but explore the little back streets)
- cafes, benches, bridges
Printable Resources:
Print .pdf files of the <u>Paris Tourist Office booklet</u> (all you need to know for museums, monuments, etc)
http://tinyurl.com/28zqcx
Amsterdam itineraries/museums:
http://www.amsterdam.info/itineraries/
http://www.amsterdam.info/print/museums/
Brussels: (large file)
Print this - http://www.belgiumtouristguide.be/pdf/en/BRU.pdf
- add a canal cruise, Anne Frank house and Van Gogh Museum and you've got plenty to do
Brussels:
- has a LOT of interesting-sounding musuems that we haven't been to
Paris, the basics:
- Notre Dame
- Saint Chapelle if it's sunny
- Louvre & Jardin de Tuileries
- Musee d'Orsay
- Eiffel Tower
- Seine cruise (sunset is nice)
- Jardin de Luxembourg
- wander the Marais on Sunday
- tourist-watching at Sacre Coeur (but explore the little back streets)
- cafes, benches, bridges
Printable Resources:
Print .pdf files of the <u>Paris Tourist Office booklet</u> (all you need to know for museums, monuments, etc)
http://tinyurl.com/28zqcx
Amsterdam itineraries/museums:
http://www.amsterdam.info/itineraries/
http://www.amsterdam.info/print/museums/
Brussels: (large file)
Print this - http://www.belgiumtouristguide.be/pdf/en/BRU.pdf
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