We are leaving most of the planning to our tour guides as our time is soooo limited. I am so sad that we will not have time for museums (especially in Paris) Can you tell me of any tourist hot spots that are really not worth seeing. I am a lover of architecture, my friend is a shopper (but I will not let her spend too much time shopping as our time is limited.) We are meeting with a travel agent to discuss what we want to take in in each city. I of course want to SEE all the touristy things I have only seen pictures of i.e. I will go and SEE the Eiffel Tower but I won't spend the time going to the top of it. Can you tell me of any tourist hot spots that are really not worth seeing. I really love to hear what you all think...I hope you understand what I am trying to say :/

You may want to check with your Ams hotel as to what they can offer to set up for you ahead of time...we loved the canal boat tour and there are many, even one with hop on and off stops. Do you want to see the Anne Frank house (for which you need reservations ahead ) or Rembrandts house, or see a performance at the Concertgebouwe ( I know I blew that spelling ) There are many options. Plus if the weather is fine, it is a blast just to sit out at a cafe and have a beer and bar food and people watch,

In London, again it is what intrigues you the most...we had spent a week in London before our last trip, which was actually just a layover to overcome jetlag, get a good night s sleep, and spend a day seeing a few sights before an overnight flight elsewhere. We squeezed a lot into that short visit because we focused only on a few things. We visited a fun little Museum...I'm thinking it was Thomas Soames' museum.. After checking into our hotel (it was a Marriott nearby that I'd used points for, and they let us in early) That evening we took a London Walks pub walk which was delightful, and had dinner after that. The next day we did the

Hmmm.. Knocked me off mid thought...

Tate Modern, as we enjoy modern art, and had lunch in their wonderful restaurant with stupendus view of London and the Thames.

Do check out London Walks as we used them on both trips and they do a lovely job.

Since this is your first trip to London, you really might enjoy the hop on and off bus, if only because you can tick off a lot of "must sees" by doing so. We also thought the Beefeaters's tour of The Tower of London was worth taking. Check London's Visit London website to get an idea of what you want to do.

You won't see everything, but if you plan well, you wlll be rewarded with great memories.

"<i>We are meeting with a travel agent to discuss what we want to take in in each city</i>"

Not entirely sure I understand this bit. Maybe a TA can help you book hotels and such, but IME they seldom have expertise about local sightseeing.

Ha! Never mind my London riff. I think you will be well served with your private tours of London, and you do seem to have picked a fine focus for those days. I've not known anyone who has been disappointed when they have gone with a primary interest and had local help in planning for it!

And in any case, it was Sir John Soane's Museum. Hmmmm, must be watching too much Masterpiece Theatre....

I would skip the meeting with the travel agent. You're getting better information here than any travel agent can likely provide.

JanisJ, We have a travel agent here (who is British) and he is setting up our tours in Rome and London. He assures us that these guides are wonderful so fingers crossed. We are to decide and tell him what sights we want to see and he will relate it to the tour guides.

The pub crawl sounds like something my DH would enjoy. Thanks for the idea of contacting our hotel in Amsterdam. The hop on hop off boat sounds great. I am thinking it would be better to see the city (since it is our fist visit) than to try to get transportation out to see the windmills.

I just am trying to think this out as much as possible so that when I get home it is, as you said, great memories, and not a blurrrr.