Need Help planning 9 nights in Paris/brussels/Bruge/Koln
 

I will be traveling into Brussels and leaving from Paris. I know that I want to spend 4 nights in Paris. Do I have enough time to see Brussels, Bruge & Koln in 5 nights? If so how would you plan that out seeing that I am coming in to Brussels. I do know that I can take the train out of Koln to Paris. I know alot of people to amsterdam, but my husband was just there. I am open to other areas other than Koln as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'd head straight to Bruges for 2 nights there. On day 3, see Brussels on the way into Germany. The area near the Grand Place is walkable, a nice place to spend several hours. But for me, Brussels wasn't a place to linger.

If you aren't sold on Cologne, the area south of there known as the Middle Rhine Valley is an easy sell - thousand-year-old castles, attractive villages with half timbered buildings (especially in Bacharach), lots of wineries. Spend 3 nights in Boppard, St. Goar, or Bacharach, or one in Cologne and two in one of the villages.

www.marksburg.de

Agree with Russ on the Bruges/Brussels part. I wouldn't waste more than a few hours in Brussels to see the Grand Place, eat a waffle and move on. I am also not a fan of Koln. Along with Brussels, Koln is on my 'least favorite European cities' list. I also agree that the middle Rhine Valley is wonderful. I spent a whole week there a couple years ago and loved it BUT with only 4 nights in Paris it would not be my choice. Depends on what you want. I'd personally expand the Paris time and do just Paris and Brugge. But if you really only want four days in Paris, and want to see some of Germany than certainly Russ's plan is a good one. Just remember that you'll loose most of a day getting to and from Germany between the trains, finding hotel, etc.

More time in Paris. Cologne, eh, not much. Brugges and Paris would be me. SO much more to do and see.

We liked Brussels a lot and happily spent 3 days there. It is a low-key city, and not big on iconic sites, so I think it gets overlooked a lot, but we really enjoyed it. One thing I loved about Brussels was the comic murals in the old town area. Those were so much fun to seek out - we took a self-guided walking tour to see these murals and in the process explored some neat neighborhoods. We also enjoyed the beer, waffles, and chocolate - of course. The art noveaux architecture is fabulous. We also liked going to the Atomium and wandering the ajoining park.

Bruges is really neat too - we took a bike tour, which was great. Other favorite activities were the Halve Maan brewery tour and climbing the belfry. We had 3 nights there, which was probably 1 night too many.

Hi KB,

>Do I have enough time to see Brussels, Bruge & Koln in 5 nights?

Yes.

Will you remember it? Maybe.

((I))