Paris to Amsterdam (and Maybe Germany or Prague)
 

Guys/Gals,

I really need some suggestions/help here.

I'm going to Paris next month (April) and will be traveling by Car from Paris. I'm trying to figure out what would be the best itinerary that I can plan for a 7 day round trip.... I'm thinking the following:

-Paris to Brussels
-Brussels to Amsterdam
-Amsterdam to ???? (I'm thinking WEst germany... frankfurt?? or would love to go to Prague, but maybe it's too far east?? any other suggestion?)
-??? back to Paris

The goal is to be back in Paris on Sunday the latest since I will be flying back on Monday Morning.

Do you guys have any suggestions/ideas?? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have a group of friends that just did the Amsterdam - Koln (Cologne) roadtrip and seemed to think it was not too onerous a drive.

Since you state you only have 7 days I am presuming that you really only intend to visit the major cities listed - Brussels, Amsterdam and somewhere in Germany (2 days each plus a day in transit) before heading back to Paris.

Here are approximate driving times;

Paris - Brussels 3.5 hours
Brussels - Amsterdam 2.5 hours
Amsterdam - Frankfurt 4.5 hours
Frankfurt - Paris 6 hours

Your guess on Prague is correct it is about 9 hours from Amsterdam and 10 back to Paris.

You have a lot on your plate for just 7 days with a Paris-Brussels - Amsterdam-Frankfurt - Paris round trip by car.

You do not need a car, nor is it anything but an expense to rent and park, in Brussels, or Amsterdam, or any major German city. There are superb high speed train trains on each of the routes you list - had you considered the train?

With your proposed itinerary, you will be seeing more of the highway than of the places you mention.

You could easily divide your time among Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris and still not come close to seeing everything there is to see in those three cities, not to mention any side trips you might want to take.

I'd take the Thalys from Paris to Brussels the day you arrive in Paris. Then up to Amsterdam for a couple of days, and back to Paris for the rest of your time. IMHO, trying to go even to Frankfurt in the time you have, much less Prague, is not do-able.

There are better qualified people to give specifics than me, but if you are definitely going to have a car, why not take advantage of it see some more rural locales that are harder to get to by train, rather than larger cities where, as has been noted, a car will be an expensive nuisance.

<i>Do you guys have any suggestions/ideas??</i>

Yup. Ditch the car. Take the train.

For only 7 days do half in Paris and half in Amsterdam. Skip the rest.

glenmd is right - if you have a car avoid the cities and visit some of the lesser visited areas, which aren't so accessible by public transport.
If you want to visit just cities, take the train. It will be quicker, and a lot less hassle in the cities. parking in Amsterdam is a nightmare and very expensive, and the same is true of German cities, for which you may need an environment sticker to be able drive the car anywhere near the centre.

Thank you all for your replies so far.

To clarify, I will be in Paris that weekend before (so I'm actually departing Paris that Monday). I will actually be traveling with my cousin and her husband who live and own a car in Paris (therefore I will not be renting a car).

I believe some of you have mentioned visiting some of the rural areas... I believe that sounds interesting. To be honest with you all, I don't know much about these rural towns, do you guys suggest any specific towns to visit and stay on the way there?

also... I'm ok with not going to brussels, but would like to go to Amsterdam. Is Amsterdam really that bad to pay for Parking say 2 or 3 days?

Parking in Amsterdam is extremely expensive. We paidan extra 47 euro per day to park at the hotel where we were staying. Not cheap!! That was several years ago.

You may be able to park at the airport for a better price, and then train into the city. You really do not need or want a car if you are only touring in the city anyway. As others have said, it is a problem.

We almost ALWAYS have a car... we park it during most of our stay. But if we are driving into the countryside, it's nice to have it handy, rather than taking a train all the way out to the airport to pick it up. Depends on what you want to do while in Amsterdam. There is lots to see/do right in the city center, without having to drive somewhere.

Amsterdam is a wonderful city. I hope you get to spend some time there.

If you are just using the car to go between huge cities like Brussels, Paris and amsterdam then once there cars can be a liability - city centres often off-limits to private vehicles, parking can be iffy and where available really expensive - about $30/day or so in Amsterdam - hotels in city centres do not always offer parking and if they do may charge a lot.....

Consider hopping the train if just going to mega cities like those - city centre to city centre - but if wanting to explore the countryside in places like Germany's Mosel Valley, France' Champagne district, etc then take the car.

But for those huge cities where you presumably will want to spend some days with little time for exploring the countryside consider the train - modern frequent trains that blast between those cities at speeds of nearly 190 mph. Check out these great sites IMO to learn about European train travel - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com

Well since you are already in Paris for some time and you have the car at your disposal that is the logical way to travel.

You can beat the high cost of parking in Amsterdam if you use a Park + Ride parking lot. See http://tinyurl.com/cxm3tw.

If you haven't driven in Europe before I suggest visiting http://tinyurl.com/3bc2ax for an illustrated introduction.

If I had a few days to amble about between Paris and Amsterdam I would go via Reims, Luxembourg, Aachen, Maastricht, and Antwerp. Get some Michelin maps and Michelin Green Guides and pick your pleasure.

Paris to Amsterdam?

Other places to visit that aren't "big city"?

Try Brugge and Delft/Leiden

Someone else may have a NE France recommendation.

Benelux would be one place I would not drive - population density rivaling India - not much rural areas really, at least between popular tourist cities and the rail system is so so fantastic with about twice hourly trains between all key cities and right into the town centers - no hassles with parking, etc.

Dreamy cities like Haarlem, Leiden, Delft and Utrecht have made off-limits much of their city centres to private cars as has Amsterdam - pay a lot to park, etc.

And from the train you can see the Dutch and Belgian countryside as good as in a car - rail lines actually slice thru farms, etc. but main roads in these windy countries often IME of biking there for years are lined by windblocks of tall trees.