My friend and I are planning a trip from Amsterdam to Paris in May. I wanted to know if this itinerary is doable by train and any interesting places that I really should see. This will be our first time to the Netherlands and Belgium. The places are not set, so I'm open to suggestions of staying at other cities or towns between Amsterdam and Paris. Thank you in advance for all your help.
p.s
My friend and I looooove to eat, so good restaurant suggestions will be appreciated.

5/15 - Flying
5/16 - Amsterdam (Arrive)
5/17 - Amsterdam
5/18 - Amsterdam
5/19 - Amsterdam
5/20 - Rotterdam (Travel day)
5/21 - Rotterdam
5/22 - Bruges (Travel day)
5/23 - Bruges
5/24 - Brussels (Travel day)
5/25 - Brussels
5/26 - Paris (Travel day)
5/27 - Paris
5/28 - Paris
5/29 - Departure

If it were me, I'd cut time in Amsterdam and add it to Paris, especially if you love food. The Dutch are not particularly known for their food and we didn't find great restaurants in Amsterdam.

We loved Amsterdam and found some great places to eat once we discovered the local neighborhoods to look in. (Try the area around the Concertgebouw Concert Hall) We also found that the grocery store ( Albert Heijn?) has some extraordinary take-out options for picnics.

Plus, assuming you have the same lovely weather we did last year at this time, just hanging out with a beer overlooking the canals and people watching is terrific. One of the first things you may want to do is take a canal boat tour around. Very touristy, but such a pretty way to see the city from the water.

Can't help you with Rotterdam, Bruges or Brussels, but I sure envy your opportunity Based on your statement, I'm assuming this is NOT your first time in Paris...hence the concentration on the rest!

What kinds of activities are you interested in (other than eating)? Museums, architecture, night life, shopping? That will help determine if there's any place you're missing that's a must-see.

In terms of being doable by train -- Yes, definitely, all of it is. The only thing is, from Rotterdam to Bruge you will likely need to change trains in Brussels, which isn't a big deal, but you might switch those two cities. You can get a Thalys direct from Bruge to Paris.

In terms of eating -- no, Dutch cuisine is not exactly world-renowned, but there are a lot of ethnic foods that fill that void -- Indonesian, Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan restaurants abound. Are you looking for upscale dining, local cuisine, or ?

I, too, recommend taking a day from Amsterdam and adding it to Paris. There is so much more to see and do in Paris. And, despite the interesting ethnic food in Amsterdam, Paris has all that and French food, too. And absolutely wonderful restaurants.

I as well, would definitely take a day away from Amsterdam, to do one extra in Paris

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions, especially about the changing trains from Rotterdam to Bruge. I thought about adding an extra day to Paris and taken one out from Amsterdam, but we've been to Paris a couple times. Our ending in Paris is so we can go do some major damage shopping and if we have an extra day, we might end up pawning our returning flight ticket... Our main goal is to check out museums, architectures, eating, shopping and just relax. However, if tuplips are still in bloom around the time we are going, we really would love to check that out.

also, we would like to do some hiking, so any great hiking trails would be great too.

What draws you to Rotterdam?

I don't think there's anything that draws me to Rotterdam. I've never been to the Netherlands and it seems like a good stop on the way. Is there another city that I should think about. None of the cities are set in stone. If another city/town is better fit to stay, I'm open to it.

I would go to Antwerp instead of R'dam. Antwerp is just as vibrant as Rotterdam and has lots more historic sites.
And i agree on taking a day away from Amsterdam in favour of Paris.

You mentioned that one of your primary interests was architecture. Rotterdam is pretty well know for its cutting edge (okay, sometimes odd) architecture. Most of the city was leveled during WWII and the post-War rebuilding really tried to push the boundaries of design.

Examples here: http://gridskipper.com/archives/entr...979/269979.php

The Nederlands Architecture Institute is also in Rotterdam: http://en.nai.nl/

If, however, you don't find modern architecture particularly fascinating, then I agree Antwerp is also nice. I tend find that a lot of the older town squares (and those that have been rebuilt as heritage sites) start to look alike to me. But that's just my personal preference.

We are thinking about the same trip landing in Paris in the beginning of June and leaving from Amsterdam in the middle of the month. We are planning on spending 5 days in the Paris area and 2-3 days in Holland. Are there worthwhile stops on the way to Amsterdam that we should be sure to see?
Thanks

With trains being what they are, Amsterdam and Rotterdam are now 30 minutes apart by train, and so is Antwerp from Rotterdam. Rotterdam - Paris is 2 hours 35 minute: that's daytrip distance!

Antwerp is nice, but perhaps leave early from Amsterdam, walk around in Antwerp, take the train to Paris in the late afternoon, arrive around 7PM? I live in Rotterdam and Paris, (work and studio in Rotterdam, plus a pied a terre, apartment in Paris) and it's within commuting distance for me. So if you plan a little bit, you can do all sorts of things on the way, without necessarily having to stay anywhere, taking Amsterdam as a base, and Paris to end up in. Brussels can safely be skipped, imo, and Rotterdam too: it's not really a city for tourism.

so I'd do :16 - 20 may Amsterdam, with a daytrip to Rotterdam and/or Delft
21 may, start early for Paris, take the international train to Antwerp, book Thalys Antwerp - Paris, arrive in the evening
22 - 29 may Paris.

There is an amazing pancake restaurant in Amsterdam (their pancakes are more like crepes. I don't know the name but it is just a couple blocks from the Ann Frank House along the canal. Also make sure you try the "poffertjes" (mini Dutch pancakes) (they also sell at the street markets). Also a great town to visit is Haarlem- about a 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam. Lots and lots of shopping and an amazing street market if you go on their market day. Another great thing to do in Holland in May is to rent bicycles and ride around Amsterdam and through the tulip fields. It's very easy and cheap to rent bicycles in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities.

The architecture in Rotterdam is a plus but besides that I agree on Antwerp or if you want to spend the day in Holland maybe The Hague.

Thank you all for the suggestions. After reading everyone's views, we have modified our trip a little. Instead of heading from Amsterdam to Brussels to Paris, we've decided to do Amsterdam (4 full days - that way if we want we can do a day trip to Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp and surrounding areas ), Barcelona (3 full day) and then end in Paris (3 full day). Now the question is where to stay in Amsterdam? We are two girls, so we are looking at nice, safe and reasonable priced areas.