Looking for advise on a week long trip to Holland with a stopover in Brugge. Our current plans are 2 nights in Brugge, 3 nights in in Delft (with trips to The Hague and Rotterdam), and finish with 3 nights in Haarlem. We will not be visiting Amsterdam on this trip.
Any suggestions and/or advise will be appreciated.

Bringing your message back up "to the top" to try to get you some answers - - since you are relatively new here.

(How did I know that? Click on your own name).

Best wishes,

Rex

What time of year will you be going? I can recommend a fantastic B&B in Lisse if you're there at tulip time.

Thanks for both responses. We will be in Belgium/Holland March 9 - 17.

Early March is too early for the tulips. Bring your MacIntosh and gloves.

What kind of suggestions are you looking for? Sights/sites, sleeps, eats, shopping, special interests? How old are you? Sex(s)? Do you have a guidebook? Car or train? Budget?

BTW, skip Rotterdam unless you like big business centers like Frankfurt a/M.

'BTW, skip Rotterdam unless you like big business centers like Frankfurt a/M.'
Yep, that's the kind of advice I was looking for. We are a married couple in our late 50s. Looking for interesting: sights, architecture, museums, etc. Also any suggestions for inexpensive resturants and hotels/B&Bs.

Rotterdam actually is known for having some of the most interesting modern architecture in Europe, and it also has an excellent art museum. But it definitely won't give the "old Dutch" experience, if that's what you're after.

If it has an excellent art museum I'm there!
Thanks.

Here's their site:
http://www.rotterdam.nl/smartsite.dws?id=2039276

Please check it out first. I don't want to feel guilty if you go there and hate it.

I see you've already decided on the Hague, so I guess you already know about the Mauritshuis, a fabulous museum for 17th c. Dutch paintings.

It might be easier to do in March than when I did it years ago in January, but the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo is well worth a visit.

http://www.kmm.nl/index_flash.html#voorpagina

Looks like my cornfuter posted this before I was ready. Here is the rest of the story.

Dinner restaurants are everywhere but usually on back streets and hard to find. Go at least once to a classic romantic place in Haarlem, the Goede Uur. Go late, after dinner, for some sherry or wine and cheese.

There are several 2* hotels around the center. The Joops, Amadeus, Raekse, and Carillon. Each is about euro 60 minimum for one person, and maybe two persons. I would suggest one of the B&Bs for better atmosphere and better prices. Do a google search for B&B Haarlem. Hotel prices don't always include breakfast which can be your first major expense of the day, if you can find an open cafe.

Nightlife is mostly around the Grote Kerk. Two of the oldest and most popular cafes are the &quot;In Den Uiver&quot; and the &quot;Blauedruif Proeflokaal,&quot; which we always called &quot;The Proef&quot; so I'm not too sure about the spelling. You will not be too old or too young in these pubs and will be most welcome as &quot;Yanks.&quot; I've been a client of each since 1975. Don't get dragged into political discussions which they love to do. Learn a few Dutch words before you go, especially <i>tot ziens</i>, &quot;see you later&quot; for your good bye. That's about all the Dutch you'll ever be able to pronounce. Say it as &quot;toat zeens.&quot; They love it. The Uiver has live jazz a couple of nights each week. Ask at the VVV.

Take an afternoon train to Zandvoort for a late winter look at the most popular beach resort in Holland. If it is a nice day, Zandvoort might be awakening from its winter sleep.

The VVV tourist office offers, or has recommendations for, guided walking tours of the city. Make sure you are on an English language tour and it will certainly be worthwhile. The VVV is on the SW corner of the train station, next to the flower stand. If you are visiting someone in the city make sure you bring a bouquet. It is the Dutch tradition.

If you like cigars, or know someone who does, visit one of the cigar shops. My favorite is Jan van der Pigge on Grote Houtstraat. When there, across the &quot;street&quot; from the V&amp;D department store, ask someone to point out the old apothecary shop around the corner to the west. The V&amp;D, a major department store chain in Holland, could not buy out the obstinate owner of that store, so they built around it. Stand back and take a picture with the bust above the door. Go in for a look at the way drugstores used to be.

Try the fresh raw herring at the Lijnzaat fish stand right behind you at the Botermarkt. It is one of the best in Holland. The Botermarkt also has some pleasant cafes and an old antique store, one of a dying breed in Holland.

Well, it looks like something is amiss so here is part of the rest of the story:


In Haarlem you have the Tylers Museum and the Frans Hals Museum. The Cruquius Expo is a 150 year old steam engine used to pump out Haarlemmeer (Lake Haarlem) and has a very interesting hydrologic map of Holland, plus plenty of old steam engines. The Amsterdamse Poort is the last remaining piece of the old town walls and is worth a walk through. The main church, St. Bavokerk also called the Grote Kerk, is at the town square, the Grote Markt. The square is straight from 1600, except for the damn McDonalds. There are a couple of museums in the old buildings around the square. There is also an interesting provincial museum near the Frans Hals Museum. Other features of Haarlem include the hofjes which date back several centuries. These are groups of homes provided by the muncipality for the indigent, built around courtyards. The Frans Hals Museum occupies one of these, but there are several more which are still in original use.

Have lunch at the Brinkman on the Grote Markt.

We loved Brugge in Sept. of 2003. Stayed at a wonderful b&amp;b called Absoluut Verhulst, web site www.b-bverhulst.com. The owners are Frieda and Benno and will make your stay memorable. The rooms are very comfortable and it is in a very good location.

There's a recent thread on here with the title 'Rotterdam or bust'. Type in Rotterdam in the search box, and you will find it.

I recommend the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. The large canvases by Hals are marvellous and I also liked the paintings by Ruisdael.
Don't miss the Mauritshuis in The Hague. It's a wonderful museum. The municipal museum, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, has occasionally some good exhibitions.

URL's for the museums mentioned in my previous message:

Frans Hals Museum
http://www.franshalsmuseum.nl/

Mauritshuis
http://www.mauritshuis.nl/english/

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/

I'd skip Rotterdam and add time to Amsterdam.

What are your primary interests and how did you arrive at your original line up of places to visit?

Thank you all for your suggestions and for the web addresses. All have been duly noted in my trip-planning log. We will most likely follow all of your suggestions regarding sights and museums. Let's face it, Holland in March; we will probably spend as much time indoors as possible.

Eloise, the Kroller-Muller Museum is a can't-miss destination for us. I thought we could take the train to Apeldoom and then a bus to the museum. Is it more complicated than I think?

Hopscotch, you have hit on my two greatest loves (after my wife) food and cigars. Thanks for all of the ideas.

We are not doing Amsterdam this trip because we spent several days there last summer prior to heading for Germany.

It sounds like we may not do a full day in Rotterdam. Perhaps we should base our 3 days in The Hague instead of Delft and do Delft on a day trip.

Many thanks

While staying in Delft or Haarlem, you can easily do a day trip to Utrecht and Gouda via train. The website for the rail line is:

www.ns.nl

<b>Gouda</b> is a lovely little town with a &quot;fairy tale looking&quot; stadhuis - check out the carillon on the east side, whose small figures come to life every half hour, depicting Count Floris of Holland granting the city charter to Gouda in 1272. Then there is St. Janskerk (13c) with its magnificent collection of 70 stained-glass windows, most dating from the 16th century.

The old section of <b>Utrecht</b> is very gothic, with the canals running at basement level instead of street level. As large as the Domkerk is, only half of it remains as part of it was lost to a hurricane centuries ago. You can trace the footsteps of the foundation in the area between the Domkerk and the Domtoren.... Which, by the way, has a wonderful view of the city if you are so inclined to walk the 465 steps to the topmost gallery. You can walk halfway up the tower for a decent view, which is not a bad climb. But the last half of the climb to the top is a tight winding staircase...you feel like a corkscrew when you get to the top! Utrecht also has the Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement (Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum) which houses a collection of old clocks, music boxes, player pianos, barrel organs, etc.. It's a very enjoyable little museum.

We stayed in <b>Delft</b> in 2003 at the Herberg de Emauspoort. It's a lovely little hotel (12 rooms) with a bakery on site, located along the canal behind the Nieuwe Kerk. They had free bikes available if you wanted to bike around the town. We would definately stay there again. Their website is:

www.emauspoort.nl

If you intend to buy any Delftware, please be aware that there are only two authentic Delft potteries (certified by the Delft Chamber of Commerce), and most of what you will see in the tourist stores are imitations.

My husband and I have been to <b>Rotterdam</b> several times, mostly for the modern architecture, but also to take the water taxi over to Hotel New York and back. We've never been to any of the museums, so we can't comment there, except there seems to be many to choose from. We've always been in Rotterdam on sunny days, and just enjoyed wandering around....like up and down the &quot;Walk of Fame&quot; for a little 'hokiness' or just meandering around Delftshaven.

When you visit <b>den Hague</b> from Delft, be sure to take Tram #1 into the city instead of the train. It is a very enjoyable little ride. There are many things to do in den Hague, as already mentioned. My suggestion would be a visit to Escher in het Paleis (#74 Lange Voorhout), especially if you are in any way familiar with M.C. Escher's works. It blew my mind...particularly the Virtual Reality Tour on the third floor of the museum which takes you (virtually) through several of his famous pieces.....WOW! You can also take the tram (#8, I think) up to Scheveningen, although it will be a little cold in March at the seashore. However, my husband and I and our 2 friends were in Scheveningen on March 16, 1998 and walked down to the beach just to stick our hand in the North Sea.

Hopscotch covered <b>Haarlem</b> very well (in fact, we'll have to make a journey back to check out The Cruquius Expo). We really enjoyed the Tylers Museum, so I hope you have included that in your plans. Haarlem is another town which is just enjoyable to walk around. If you are so inclined, you can take the bus from Haarlem to <b>Spaarandam</b> where they have the &quot;Dike Boy Statue&quot; a statue dedicated to the youth of Holland and the boy who saved it by putting his finger in the dike.

<b>Leiden</b> has a quaint little Windmill museum, Molen de Valk, which is located around the corner from the train station. You can climb up the seven stories to the top, and walk out on the deck, right next to the sails, for a beautiful view of Leiden.

And now to Belgium... <b>Brugge</b> is a beautiful canal town with great beer and food. We stayed there in 2003 at the Hotel Cavalier (Kuipersstraat 25), which was right around the corner and down the block from the Market and the Burg. The hotel website is:

http://users.skynet.be/hotel.cavalier

Have fun on your adventure. Only four more months to go......Peace. &gt;-

Robyn

Thank you so much Robyn for your very helpful post.