Help needed! I will be spending 7 nights in Northern Italy and then onto Lisbon for 4 nights before travelling onto Porto by train for 4 nights. I have 3-4 nights spare before I need to be in Amsterdam. Any suggestions on something relatively close worth visiting for 3-4 nights. Have been to Paris a few times and not really interested in going back there....prefer to experience a new destination...I welcome your suggestions!

London? And London now has direct Eurostar trains to Amsterdam, taking about 4 hours.

For trains in Italy and Portugal and Eurostar book early for nice discounts - wwwbahn.de/en has train schedules for all European trains - www.seat61.com has great tips on booking your own discounted tickets - general info where to go by trains and about trains - www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

There are several inexpensive flights from Porto to Brussels. Immediately after landing I would probably head by train to Ghent or Antwerp as a place to stay, rather than stay in Brussels, but any of the 3 would still leave you in a good position to move onward to Amsterdam without much hassle. (Some people like Bruges, but while you can eat very well there despite the mass tourism, I prefer the other towns more). Train service in Belgium is very good, so no matter which town you choose for a hotel, you can easily visit the others, all of which have beautiful things to see and delicious places to eat. Even though I don't much like the confusing layout and bustle of big Brussels (and like the other towns better for food and drink), the Grand Place is extraordinary and worth a looksee for sure. I think it is possible to land at Brussels airport, take a bus to the train station, stow your luggage there and then go spend some time at the Grand Place before heading back to the station and moving on to a prettier town to spend nights in. Distances are short and trains are frequent.

Maybe fly to Frankfurt and spend 3 days on the Rhine and or Mosel - in the Rhine Gorge/Lorelei area - few-hour boat trips (k-d.com) are popular here and there are numerous cutesy riverside towns to put up in. And Frankfurt is only about 5 hours from Amsterdam by train - stop off in Cologne to visit the world-famous Gothic cathedral right next door to the main train station - put bags in station luggage storage.