Brussels and Amsterdam

Old Dec 16th, 2011, 10:12 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Brussels and Amsterdam

We are planning a trip this summer to Brussels and Amsterdam. We have never been to either city- are 5 nights in each city too much or not enough? We'd love suggestions as to what to see and do ( we are active seniors) and where we should start and where we should end our trip. Also side trips. Thanks so much.
mavip is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 10:19 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 22,947
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Brussels has remarkable Art Nouveau sites: the Victor Horta museum and the music museum in a converted department store building are two. If you discover that you have seen enough of Brussels, you can always take a day trip to Bruges or Ghent. The same is true of Amsterdam from which one can easily reach places of interest in the Netherlands, all via public transportation.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622960216715/
Michael is online now  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 10:29 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,284
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Contrary to a lot of opinion we really enjoyed Brussels. We spent four nights there this March. I'm attaching the link to my trip report—if you're interested you can check it out.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...l-brussels.cfm
outwest is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 11:53 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,617
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We took a 2 week trip to Brussels and Amsterdam a few years ago and had a wonderful time.

We spent 4 nights in Brussels, 3 in Bruges, and 5 in Amsterdam - then a final night in Brussels before flying home.

We liked Brussels a lot too and thought that 4 nights was just about right. We had planned to do a day trip or two, but opted not to because we were enjoying Brussels so much. If you want to do day trips, I would recommend another night at least for Brussels.

Bruges was a nice small-town break. In retro-spect it seems that 3 nights there was probably 1 night too much, but there are some good day trips from Bruges that you could take though, which would make 3 nights a good idea.

The 5 nights in Amsterdam seemed about right - of course we could have spent longer and done more day trips, but we thought that 5 nights was good. We took a day trip to Delft from Amsterdam, which we really enjoyed.
november_moon is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 11:54 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,617
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Here is a link to my report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
november_moon is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 12:11 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 12,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
www.eurocheapo.com/amsterdam my fav consider a houseboat
www.eurocheapo.com/brussels bigger city crowded
Bruges the Venice of the north my fav...

Have fun!
qwovadis is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 01:37 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I prefer Antwerp over Brussels. From Amsterdam there are a number of possible day trips, including the Zaanse Schans, Haarlem, Delft, and many others to get you out of the big city.
spaarne is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 04:46 PM
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you all- this is a great help. One more question -what is the best way to get from Brussels to Amsterdam.
mavip is offline  
Old Dec 16th, 2011, 05:02 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,350
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Check out Thalys train as the best way to get from Brussels to Amsterdam. If you buy your tickets 90 days in advance, it is about 26 Euro per ticket. Thalys is a TGV-like high-speed train. it takes about 2 hours from Brussels to Amsterdam. I took Thalys from Brussels to Paris and it was a fabulous experience. Even though the train travels about 100 to 300 miles an hour, you can still see the scenery.
Tentek is offline  
Old Dec 17th, 2011, 01:24 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,370
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We recently spent 10 1/2 days based in Brussels seeing that city and taking day trips to Mechelen, Antwerp, Leuven, Tournai,Villers la Ville and Tervuren. We had visited Brugge and Ghent on earlier trips. My trip report is about half finished and I would be happy to answer questions about the day trip locations I have not described yet.
Vttraveler is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rose890
Europe
8
Aug 3rd, 2014 03:08 PM
richnindy
Europe
8
Feb 13th, 2013 06:32 AM
mavip
Europe
7
Jan 31st, 2012 03:58 PM
blackcts
Europe
5
Jun 12th, 2009 12:29 AM
60something
Europe
13
Jan 25th, 2007 01:17 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -