Four women (myself, 28-year-old daughter, sister, and friend) 1 week, Amsterdam and Paris. Three of us have been to Paris. Only my daughter has been to Amsterdam.

Here's the rough itinerary:

Fly out Monday
Arrive Tuesday - no real plans, recover from jet lag, walk around as we feel like it
Wednesday - Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum, maybe Heineken museum, Jordaan walking tour in evening
Thursday - Canal boat ride, Anne Frank's House (already have tickets), Randy Roy's Red Light Tour
Friday - train to Paris, arriving around 2 p.m., evening Louvre
Saturday - Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, Orsay, evening Arc d' Triomphe
Sunday - Eiffel Tower, Rodin Museum, walk around Marais, Pompidou
Monday - Montmarte, Sacre Coeur
Tuesday - fly home

What do you think? What are we missing? Is there time to get out of town to see a little countryside in the Netherlands? Where to? How long would it take? How could we fit it in? Anyone visit the "sex museum" - we're pretty open-minded.

Regarding Paris, what do you recommend as other "must-sees"? We're staying in the 7th. Other museums? Carnavalet? l'Orangerie? Others? We all like Impressionist paintings.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have!

When I say fly out Monday, I mean literally Monday. We're leaving next week. YAY!
Karen

Haven't been to amsterdam in over 25 years so can't give much advise. But Paris -- Give yourself time to sit in the cafe and watch the world walk by. They have Vivoldi(four seasons) concerts at St. Chapelle. I'm sure it is just for the tourists, but never the less it is great. You are sitting in St. Chapelle. The music is good(But I'm not really into classical music). But it is a Paris experience.

I wouldn't try to add much more. It adds time to your itinerary just getting between places and you want to have time to relax and 'soak'. You might consider doing only one 'heavy' museum per day, example, switch the canal boat ride with Van Gogh museum. I'd want to do the canal boat ride sooner into the visit than later anyway. I don't think you would have time to see any 'countryside' unless you abandon some of your Amsterdam plans.

You have time on Monday in Paris to add something, or use it as 'catch up' time for anything you missed in prior days or something you came up on unexpectedly. Don't just go to Sacre Coeur and immediate area, explore the side/back streets, find the 'vineyard', the other windmills, etc.
http://www.aparisguide.com/montmartre/index.html

L'Orangerie is one of my favorite Paris musuems and if you like impressionist, I would add it in.

Sex museum was not much as I recall, but good 4 a laugh.

Have a great trip

DH wants to go to the torture museum in Amsterdam !!*&%!!
Has anyone been?

On your first day you might hire a couple of of those bicycle rickshaws to drive you around and get oriented. For an hour they cost €25 approximate, including the guy who pedals. See http://tinyurl.com/mln4dz for an example, but most are not as fancy as these.

Not bad. For Saturday, since you are in the Notre Dame area, add Ile St Louis. I might also pick this night for a Seine Cruise, since one company is located at the tip of Ile de la Cite. Others are near Pont d'Alma, more twards Eiffel, but n Right Bank.. I'd definitely plan this for night time. Maybe start with Rodin in morning and spend rest of day near ND? I had lunch at Brasserie de L'Ile St louis which is on St Louis side of bridge between islands. Outdoor table, please

Might be obvious, but Marais visit must include visit to Place des Vosges. Good place also for lunch (I liked Cafe Hugo last visit, outdoor table)

Some thoughts: I am thinking about making this same trip, though a week in each place, this fall. I have never been to Amsterdam, but I would skip the Heineken Museum and the Red Light Tour in favor of hanging out in a cafe or walking around people watching or taking a ferry. I wouldn't go on a red light tour at home so can't imagine doing it in Amsterdam, but your mileage may vary.

In Paris, I would also add some time in a park, preferably the Jardin Luxembourg, since it is near your other Saturday locations. Add the Arc de Triomphe and Palais Royal to the Montmartre day and add Michel_Paris's suggestion of the cruise from Pont Neuf as a nice way of ending that Saturday.

If you like impressionists and have a rainy day, go to the Musee Marmottan.

jetset - Regarding the torture museum - I haven't been to the one in Amsterdam (our first trip to that city is very soon - can't wait) but we did go to the Crime and Punishment museum in Rothenberg OBT in Germany, which is their torture museum. While many of the things were disturbing, it was absolutely facinating at the same time.

Well I would suggest that in Amsterdam you go to visit the "church in the attic" (I don't remember the actual name but I'm sure you'll read about it in the guidebooks). It is right in the middle of the red light zone. It is quite interesting and it will also give you a chance to get the flavor of that side of Amsterdam. I did not go to the Sex Museum - walking thru the area was enough for me. I'd rather go and hang out in the Jordaan or sit canalside and watch the boats putter by. Just my opinion.

Also with limited time in Paris I would do EITHER the Orsay or L'Orangerie. L'Orangerie is much smaller and limited. You could try to squeeze in a trip to Giverney - Fat Tire Bikes has a nice day trip.

No comment on Amsterdam, haven't been there, but Paris is our favorite city, been there often. This is what I would do:

Fri: The Louvre and dinner. Personally, I prefer D'Orsay. IMO The Louvre is beautiful on the outside, but very overwhelming on the inside.

The street entertainment around Notre Dame and/or St. Michel is really fun on Fri. or Sat. night after 9-10pm. The Amorino gelato shop on Rue St. Louis en Ile is open until 11pm---also fun as every cone is in the shape of a flower.

Sat: Notre Dame & St.Chapelle(might skip if the lines are extremely long). Then a walk along Ile St. Louis over to The Marais, lunch at Place Vosges (we also liked Cafe Hugo), then The Carnavalet(wonderful artwork and building). Personally I'd do this instead of The Pompidou, but I'm not a fan of modern art, maybe you are. The Carnavalet is much more "French" IMO.

Sun: Luxembourg Gardens is at it's best on Sun.--I wouldn't miss a walk through the garden and the charming St. Germain area with a stop at a sidewalk cafe for lunch or just coffee or wine. Then The Rodin & Eiffel Tower(although I prefer it at night, the lights are stunning and the lines shorter).



Mon: Montmartre & Sacre Cour & Arc d'Triomphe(although the arc and the champs did not much for me--again just my opinion)Maybe you could add The Orangerie.

The one thing I would definitely add is a river cruise, day or night. We prefer Vedettes at the Pont Neuf--very nice. Maybe you could add it on Sun. or Mon. night. Another thought would be a Bateau Mouche cruise from the Eiffel tower on Sun. late afternoon or after dinner.

You did say that some of you have been to Paris, so maybe you have done some of the things I mentioned, but I do hope I have been of some help.

Have a wonderful trip. I'll be looking forward to your trip report when you return. We have got some of our best tips on Paris from the Fodorite trip reports.

If you do the Paris program you might end on your knees!
The Louvre for an evening seems already very short, but maybe done.
I'd agree with Travelnut especially on the Sacré Coeur area! Do take time to see the real Paris, and taste it's charms.
If you want to have a real good food do not stay in the most touristic places, but go in the side streets. You could as well check with the Montmartre office of tourism (Syndicat d'initiative de Montmartre), they have a tour of Montmartre full of surprises and in english, daily. You could check on their website for more info.
Don't miss the wonderful view over Paris from the Sacré Coeur's garden.
Giverny is a beauty, but takes nearly a full day to go and get back and see Monet's garden, I would keep that for your next trip.

Wow - thanks for the all the advice! Regarding not doing two major museums on the same day, I was thinking that since the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh are close together, that it made sense to do them back-to-back... although it's true I'm a little concerned about getting museumed out on that day. Anyone done them both on the same day?

And the advice about getting off the beaten path and just "soaking" it up is good - it's hard for me to do that because I tend to want to see everything. The other three are more laid back and may be able to keep me from over-doing it.

The Louvre supposedly stays open late Friday, so I was thinking we could spend 2-3 hours there (which is enough for one visit). I think we'll get the 4-day museum pass, so we could always return later for second visit (if there's time!).

A river cruise hadn't even occurred to me. Hm, maybe we'll check that out.

Thanks everyone. And yes, I'll definitely do a trip report - all the details.

If you decide to do just one museum, I would pick the Rijksmuseum. If you are really interested in seeing some of the countryside, right across from the Van Gogh Museum you can take a number of different bus tours. We took the bus tour to Volendam/Markum, two very interesting towns, with lots of Dutch character. I believe the tour was around 4 hours, but you would still have time to do your walk through the Jordaan area in the evening. Depending on where you are staying the bus tour also stopped right in the Dam Square area to let people off. This was not just bus tour for old folks. There were people of all ages.

Anyways, enjoy your trip. DH and I along with husbands brother and his wife will be doing the same type of trip in three weeks, except we will start with Paris for 6 days and then Holland for 8.

I chose to visit Notre Dame on Sunday so that I could also enjoy the Open Air Bird Market nearby at place Louis-Lepine on Ille de la Cite, (Metro Cite) which is only held on Sundays 9am-7pm, the rest of the week there is a flower market from 8am-7pm. Either way, great photo opportunities.

The unexpected benefit of visiting Notre Dame on Sunday morning was getting to wander the cathedral during a service with beautiful singing. The tourists did not disrupt the service and the service does not keep tourists from seeing all parts of the cathedral. They kind of go on independently of one another which seemed a little odd.

You may not have time but my favorite new museum is Musee de Quai Branly http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/accueil/index.html at 37, quai Branly, Paris 7e (Metro Alma-Marceau). Open 10am-6:30pm, Open until 9:30pm on Thursdays. Closed on Mondays. Dedicated to the African, Asian, Oceania and American arts and civilisations, this museum opened to the public in June 2006. The building is gorgeous, the displays are beautiful and the items displayed are interesting.

Even if you don't have time to visit the museum try to have a fancy lunch at Les Ombres at the Branly http://www.lesombres-restaurant.com/...the-place.html Stunning views of the Eiffel Tower, formal service and handsome waiters make you sit a little straighter in your chair. Not a haven for tourists, more high end business people dining there which is fun to see. Probably $50+/person but I like eating $$$$ lunches and cheap dinners as I couldn't afford dinner at the finer places at all.

You do not need to enter the museum to eat there and I doubt that many museum-goers even know about the restaurant. I discovered the place thanks to good reviews on fodors.com. I was there in July 07 and I stopped at the restaurant in the am before entering the museum and was told there was no availability that day for lunch. When I told them it was the only time I had they made room for us. There may be less demand now than when it was new.

Thanks Travelnut for the very interesting web site..Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur have been my favourites places in Paris ,since the first time I visited that beautiful city.
Once again, Merci Beaucoup Mon Ami..

Everytimes that we go back to Paris we always visit our favourites places..One of my favourites Cathedral is Saint Denis..

The resting place of many kings and Queens of France.
Is a little out of way and is not a popular tourists destinations.

You can do a half day tour out of Amsterdam to the Zuider Zee and villages such as Volendam and Marken. I liked seeing the old, smaller places and the sea. Also enjoyed a quick train trip down to Delft to visit some of the factories and showrooms.

Paris - sigh - maybe I will see you there. I would try and go out to Versailles and/or Chartres by train - unless the 3 of you who have been before have already done so. I think you could fit that in on several of your days - unless you just need to walk for hours to feel you have done justice to the Marais and Montmartre.

Another spot I always try to include is a tour of the old opera house - L'Opera Garnier. The Chagall ceiling is dear. And for some, a visit to Pere Lechaise Cemetery is quite a "must see". Bon Voyage!

I agree with Michel_Paris about adding Seine boat ride. Even after countless trips, it's still one of my "musts".