Bill: In Paris, we stayed at Le Notre Dame Hotel (Phone 01 43 54 20 43), which is directly across the Seine from Notre Dame cathedral. 16th century building, small and clean. We had an attic room on the 6th (top) floor - hand-hewn beams, two dormer windows with a BEAUTIFUL view of river and Notre Dame. Room was small and had a bathtub w/hand shower, but had phone, TV, mini-bar, ample closet, very quiet. Very friendly, English-speaking staff, helpful with tours, etc. Location is on edge of Latin Quarter - lots of cafes, lots to do at night, walking distance to Louve and other sites. Cost was about $120 a night, nice breakfast in room for about $6 each. Don't have anything in Paris to compare it to, but we would recommend it (ask for a room in front). <BR> <BR>In Amsterdam, we stayed at the Canal House (Phone 001-31-20-622-9987). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It's two converted 17th century canal houses joined into a hotel. We had a big, beautiful, quiet room overlooking rear garden (canal-view rooms also available if you book earlier). Around the corner from Anne Frank house, easy walk to central shopping district and museums. Very clean, with a very friendly, English-speaking staff. Cost was about $139/night, which included a nice breakfast in their beautiful breakfast room. They have a web site at
http://www.ourworld.compuserve.com/h...analhousehotel. <BR> <BR>Karen: See above for hotel recommendations. As to the rest of your questions, our travel route took us from London to Brussels by train, Brussels to Amsterdam by train, Amsterdam to Luxembourg by air, Luxembourg to Paris by air. <BR> <BR>I would highly recommend going from Amsterdam to Paris by train. The trains are comfortable and run all the time, you see a lot of nice countryside, and the cost is considerably less than air travel. If you stay at Canal House, you can walk or take a very short cab ride to the Central Station, as opposed to a long, expensive ride to the airport. In Paris, the train station is an easy cab ride from most hotels, again as opposed to a very long, $50 cab ride from the airport. DO NOT bother with a car in Paris!! <BR> <BR>From Paris to London, I'd take the high-speed trans-channel train (the Chunnel). It's very fast - about three hours between the two cities. Leaves from Gare du Nord in Paris and arrives at Waterloo Station in London, both centrally located. Again, you see some beautiful countryside, although the trip under the channel is anti-climatic - basically about 30 minutes of dark tunnel. <BR> <BR>Bev: Can't be of any help. We're middle-of-the-price-range travelers - not first-class, not budget. All I can offer is that Luxembourg had the cheapest car rental rates we've encountered in Europe so far. <BR> <BR>To all of you: We had a great trip. We especially LOVED Amsterdam and Luxembourg. While in Amsterdam, be sure and take a canal cruise. Have a wonderful trip, and feel free to post or e-mail me with other questions.
