panucci

We are in the beginning stages of planning a 13 day trip. Would this itinerary be reasonable? Would we have time for a couple days in Paris before we fly home? Would we want to take a car from Paris to Normandy? I will have more questions as we go but this will get us started. Thanks

nytraveler

In 13 days you could see Normandy (3 days), Brugge (1 day getting there and 2 days there) and Amsterdam (1 day getting there and 4 days there). That's 11 days. You can;t count the day you leave or the day you arrive. And you can;t arrive in Normandy.

Don;t see how you can do Paris unless you drop Amsterdam.

And, yes I know that the driving days won;t take the whole day, but on each one I believe you'll find at least one place you want to stop and see along the way.

zeppole

Many people -- probably most people -- spend less than 4 days in Amsterdam. Or 3 days in Normandy.

Your question is impossible to answer until you say what your itinerary is and what you hope to see or enjoy. You might not need a car for much of it. Fast train might be better.

panucci

How long does it take to get from Paris to Normandy (car/train)? If we get to Amsterdam early we could cut that down a day. We were in Paris last year so we don't need much time there but a day or two would really be nice.

zeppole

Have you bought your air tickets yet? What do you want to see in Normandy?

You can use a website like via michelin to calculate drive times.

cmeyer54

I think 3 nights AMS, 2 nights Brugges, 3 nights Normandy plus the travel is about what you can manage. You're planning to see three of my favorite places....AMS could easily be more time, Normandy(depending on your interests) could be a week or more but a longish weekend in Brugges is about right. You'll need a car in Normandy but can do trains to Brugges and Amsterdam.

panucci

No, I haven't gotten my tickets yet. I am still trying to figure out the cheapest plan from Chicago.

We want to see some of the WWII sites but also visit some of the small towns. My research has just started so I am not sure what we want to see. I am busy cutting and pasting tonight and will read through everything later.

zeppole

If you haven't bought your tickets, it may be that you could save an enormous amount of time if you either flew into Amsterdam and out of Paris, or the other way around, or if one of your airports was Brussels. You should brain out several ways.

Also, there are fast trains that go between Brugge and Paris. And you should check out train times between Amsterdam and your other destinations.

Personally, I think Brugge can be touristed as a day trip, but you may want to stay longer. I don't think there are any pre-set days you "need" to "do" a destination. You've not posted enough about yourself for people to know how to advise you on how long you personally will need to enjoy a visit to anyplace.

panucci

Thanks for the great start! I like direct flights so I was thinking of Paris/Amsterdam or the other way around. I wanted to spend at least one night in Brugge. I heard it is much nicer when the day trippers leave.