isabel

My month long trip to Europe this summer (2012) starts with about two weeks in Italy and Slovenia/Northern Croatia. My husband then flies back to the US from Milan and I have ten more days before flying home from Amsterdam. The last five days I plan to spend in Holland. That leaves me with five days/nights between leaving Milan and arriving in Holland.

If you draw a straight line from Milan to Amsterdam it goes right through Luxemborg, a place I've never been so my original plan was a couple nights there followed by three in Belgium (probably Ghent, already been to Brussels and Brugge). But now that I'm researching it more closely it appears most people are very bored with Luxemborg. It is a UNESCO site so it must have something going for it. But perhaps there is a better use of my time.

So if you were in my place what would you do? If not Luxemborg where else would you stop between Milan and Amsterdam? It appears to be a full day (about 8 hours including an hour or so stop) train trip from Milan to Luxemborg. I could stop half way in Strasborg, Fr but then that adds another hotel and all. Any other suggestions?

lavandula

I am not bored with Luxembourg - I think it's very pretty, but my trips there (and there have been about 2 -3 so far) were all short. Only on one occasion did I stay overnight, and that was out in the countryside (we had a car). You can see the casemates (war fortifications dug out of a hillside) and visit the old town, which is down in a valley below the main part of the city (walking shoes advisable). Dining is also really good, with similarities to the food in Belgium. So give Luxembourg a day (in my opinion probably no more than that), and try to get out and see the countryside too. I've heard Vianden is worth seeing too, although I've not been there myself.

Lavandula

Michael

Five days, even assuming two days of travel--one to the in-between destination and the other from there to Amsterdam--leaves three days. Basel might be the right place. It has numerous museums (the Vitra Chair museum is right over the border in Weil, the Fondation Beyeler, the music museum in the old jail, the historical museum, the fine arts museum), an old town with a cathedral and a Tinguely fountain, and easy access by train to other Swiss cities (Aarau, Zurich, Fribourg) if two days is enough time spent in Basel. My guess is that the connection from Basel to Amsterdam would be either via the Rhine valley or via Paris.

fouDor

In order to make this simple - I need to know:
A.
if you are going to buy a point to point one way rail ticket for the trip Milan-Amsterdam
or
B.
you are going to travel on a Eurail pass and if so how many rail/days will you still have at your disposal?
If the answer is A, then you could stop somewhere on the route - provided you have that intermediate stopover point listed on your ticket.
If the answer is B, you can go almost anywhere "off course".
In order to determine your best options check the route maps in the Thomas Cook Timetables at your local library or possibly a good travel agency...
However, Basel seems to be a very good bet...
Another pit stop could be Bern - very scenic old town with the river meandering through it.
Take the daytime trip from Basel northbound and you will also see the scenic Rhine Valley with its castles high above the river and boat traffic along it...
Paris is an option too, but big cities are a bit challenging for a short stay especially if it is a first trip there, so again Basel would make more sense. I have no access to the T Cook Timetables at present so can not look it up for you.

isabel

Thanks for your replies. Have not been to Basel so I'll look into that. That is where most of the trains from Milan to Luxembourg need to change. I have been to Bern and Zurich and the Rhine Valley so would rather see something new.

Type of train ticket doesn't matter - I doubt I'll get a rail pass but am willing to buy several point to point tickets so I can stop any place that makes sense.

lavandula - glad to hear you liked Luxembourg. I'm trying to psych myself up for it. It looks like if I came from Milan in one day I would arrive just before five pm so I was thinking two nights which would really just give me one day. Do you think that would be enough to see the city itself plus visit Vianden?

HG001London

I hear Stasbourg is supposed to be very nice, because of its postition it has both French and German influences.

bobthenavigator

Your camera would love Luzern.

lavandula

>I was thinking two nights which would really just give me one day. Do you think that would be >enough to see the city itself plus visit Vianden?

Again I haven't been to Vianden but I would think it would be ample time unless you are planning to do a museum in the city or sitting down to a three-course lunch, in which case your visit to Vianden might be a little rushed. But everybody is a tourist in their own way - you might not elect to do the city in a slow way, in which case I would think you could fit it all in.

Lavandula

lavandula

Here is a link I found - it looks like the tourist office's walking tour of Luxembourg City (casemates, upper and lower town) is 100 minutes:

http://www.lcto.lu/en/fid/1/66/73/wenzel/

Tour is Saturday afternoons.

Lavandula

The_lonely_traveler

Aachen and/or Maastricht perhaps?

isabel

After looking at the various alternatives I guess I'm going with my original plan which is two nights in Luxembourg and then three nights in one of the Belgian cities - either Antwerpt or Ghent. One of the disadvantages (although it certainly isn't really a disadvantage) of having done quite a bit of traveling is that I've already been to many of the places suggested here. Aachen, Luzern, Bern, Rhine Valley - were all really nice but if there's somewhere I have not yet been that is equally easy to go to I guess I'd rather see somewhere new.

lavandula - I see you have answered a lot of the posts about Belgium. Can you give any opinion as to Antwerpt versus Ghent? From what I've read Ghent seems more my speed - not really into a "cosmopolitan" city as much as picturesque historic center. But the dates I will be there are July Fri the 13 through Sunday the 15th which I understand is the start of their festival and I'm afraid the crowds will be horrible. I'd still visit it as a day trip but perhaps would be better off staying in Antwerp. Thoughts?

Michael

If Ghent, I recommend this B&B:

We found our B&B through the Ghent web page, choosing first by geographical location and then by what was available in the area. The location was perfect, the room was in the "courtyard" and was very quiet. I put courtyard in quotation marks because we were on the second floor and what had been a courtyard was now a covered space with a deck on top. The weather was perfect for us to have breakfast on the deck every morning. Had the weather been otherwise the room had a large sitting area in front of a fire place with a small table for writing or having breakfast. The one quirkiness: the bathroom was behind a wall but had no door. For availability, contact Anne Gourhant Steyaert ([email protected]) Burgstraat 25, 9000 Gent.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57622960079007

Although it's been a while since we stayed there.

lavandula

Some thoughts to help you make the decision: Antwerp is quite a big centre and rivals Brussels in many ways. Fantastic restaurants and a historic centre, good bars. Shopping is excellent in Antwerp, better even than Brussels IMO. I am not really into it, but it's also the centre of the diamond trade. There are also some significant art galleries and museums in Antwerp but you would have to check if they are all open - the main art gallery was closed for a period for renovations and I don't know when / if that ended, but that's a real gem.

Ghent is more compact and is more on par with Bruges in size. However, it's a real city with real people living there, not tranquil, and unlike Bruges does not get the tour buses full of visitors, so it's sort of a nice Flemish secret, if you get what I mean. I haven't been there during their festival so I can't comment on how crowded it gets, nor have I done all the museums, but the town itself is picturesque and there is a pretty canal running through the town, which is definitely worth a few panoramic shots on your camera.
Many people devote 2 days to Antwerp instead of Brussels, but it's a totally different vibe to Brussels, and IMO a bit cleaner than Brussels too. Your solution may be to stay in Antwerp but do a short day trip to Ghent - probably easier to get lodgings in Antwerp if there's a festival on in Ghent.

Lavandula