carol

I am planning to visit Europe in October 1999 and need some advice. My trip will last approx. 17 days and will include Germany, Switzerland and Italy( as far south as Rome). This is my first trip to Europe and feeling rather intimidated, I decided Milan is better to fly out of than in. I am having difficulty in deciding which country in which to begin my journey and have narrowed it down to Belgium (Brussels) or Holland(Amsterdam). Thank you in advance.

Tom

Carol, my wife and I have been to both Amsterdam and Belgium. I will give you my opinion of both based upon our likes. 1. We visited Brugges, Belgium on the same trip as Amsterdam. Brugges is an absolute delight! It is a little town built in the 1300's.Small streets, little canals, chocolate and lace, outstanding food and some of the best beers in the world. A great place to begin or end a trip as it offers small town environment to chill out for a day or two. 2.. Amsterdam is a large city with a lot to offer. Wonderful museums, Van Gogh, Rjkesmuseum, the "Nightwatch" alone is worth the trip, Anne Franks House, interesting East Indian cuisine etc. Both places are acceptable, it really depends upon your interests and desires regarding relaxing versus a big city atmosphere.

Jan

We have been to both cities several times.
Personally we prefer Amsterdam to Brussels as tthere just is so much more to do there. And with the canals it has more charm. Also if language is a problem for you we have found more Dutch speak English well than the Flemish do.

wes fowler

Carol,
As Tom suggests, it's really a tossup depending upon what your interests are, particularly if your German trip portion involves the Rhineland. I think Belgium offers more varied scenery than does Holland as well as a multicultural, multilingual environment. Visit the Brabant region of Belgium and you'll get the flavor of France without crossing a border. The eastern part of Belgium is most scenic with the Ardennes forest. You'll also find far more interesting cuisine in Belgium than in Holland. Brugges and Ghent are delightful cities, Brugges in particular (though it's predominantly 16th century rather than 14th.) Amsterdam with its canals is a truly unique city; the Rijksmuseum one of the world's finest; the Concertgebouw an equally fine orchestra. Delft is charming and reminiscent of Brugges in many ways; the cathedral and Frans Hals museum in Haarlem are well worth a visit. As I say, a tossup!

Jay

No contest. Holland. Amsterdam is one of the unique cities in Europe because of its canals, culture, and people. The surrounding areas are lovely. Holland shouldn't be missed.

Richard

Carol, As a suggestion, why not fly out of Rome rather than Milan? The time you save back-tracking from Rome to Milan could be used to visit Holland and then on to Belgium. How will you be getting around; car, train or a combination?

Carol

Richard,
We are considering flying our of Milan as according to our frequent flyer plan, Rome is not an option. At this time our assumption is that we will be utilizing the trains for travel. I haven't purchasesd our tickets yet, so I am still in the process of trying to decide whether to fly in or out of Amsterdam/Brussels or Milan. We are trying to cover a lot of Europe in the time we have. Thanks for your help..

Diane

Tough choice. If you plan to visit only Brussels in Belgium, I suggest Amsterdam. If you can plan time to visit Bruge, then I recommend Belgium. Bruge is one of the most charming cities in Europe. Of course, it depends on what you want to do. Are you interested in "day" life or "night" life? Amsterdam offers a lot of night life. Wonderful museums too. I concur that dining in Belgium is far superior to the Netherlands. While in the Netherlands we ate a lot of Italian, Greek and even Chinese food. It seems as if you're planning to cover a lot of territoy in a short period of time. You may find yourselves spending the majority of your trip packing, unpacking and traveling. Why not narrow down your choices and spend some time somewhere and get to know the towns you're visiting. Last year I spent two weeks in Venice, the Italian Riviera and the French Riviera. I flew into Venice and flew out of Nice. I covered a small amount of space, but had a change to experience more than just seeing the things that have to be seen. Going from Rome to Amsterdam is a long way -- for a trip like this I would plan on at least a month. Of course, this is only one person's opinion. Have a great time.

Cheryl Z.

I vote for both! Anyway, try to visit Brugges (in Belgium). I prefer it to Venice or Amsterdam as far as canals/scenery are concerned.It's pretty, charming, smaller, and easy to get around in.

Richard

Carol; Have you checked with your FF program customer service re flying out of Rome. The program I use most, American, booked me on a Brit Air flight from Rome to Gatwick and then AA back to Dallas.

Curt

Carol, We have been to Europe on a number of occasions, more or less different places each time; and no matter what the breadth or scope of your itinerary, you will feel like you have missed something and need to go back. So making your first trip a whirlwind overview is as good an approach as any, and don't worry if you can't see it all.
First, a few notes: 1)If you have travelled before (meaning that you don't panic if things don't go precisely according to plan), you will not find travelling in western Europe the least intimidating; 2) October is a wonderful time to travel both for weather and the availability of reservations, and in going north to south you may just avoid packing heavy clothes; 3) Trains are not the only way to go.
Second, our biases, so you have a frame of reference: 1)We pack pretty light unless we are going to be travelling exclusively by car or staying in one place for longer than three days; 2) We don't pre-establish a strict travel budget, but God put limits on credit cards and ATM withdrawals for a reason; 3) We're native Californians so driving is something we're used to doing, but frankly I've been more frightened driving in Miami than anywhere in Europe.
The short answer to your question is: Amsterdam. Beautiful city, friendly people, lots of things to see and do, wonderful hotels and restaurants, easy to get into from the airport (definitely a better choice than Milan for your first day) and easy to get around in. English is a second language to the Dutch.
The long answer is more of a suggestion. Fly into Amsterdam, drive through Germany and Switzerland, visit Florence, take a drive in Tuscany, drop the car in Venice. Take the train or fly to Rome. Fly to Milan. I would make hotel reservations for two nights in Amsterdam and one in Milan, and leave the nights in between to your Fodors book and a little luck. If you want some more structure, make hotel reservations in Rome as well. In 17 days, this should allow you to spend three nights each in Germany and Switzerland with a week in Italy. By driving you'll really get to see some pretty country. The only places where driving is a bit of a challenge is in major Italian cities but with good local maps (Europe has AAA offices), a quick eye, and a patient navigator you'll be fine. Besides, all you need is to find a place to park near your hotel because you won't move the car while you're in town anyway. If you don't want to drive as much, drop the car in the Lakes Region of southern Switzerland and take the train to Florence; but driving in Tuscany is a treat. Get a prepaid car reservation (Hertz is pretty good for these) and the price, even with drop charges and insurance, will be far less than renting once you're there. A travel agent will be able to book Alitalia advance round trips for cheaper than buying a one way fare. Splurge on the hotel for your last night in Milan and get a place with a private car service to the new International airport. As an alternative, unless there are things you want to see in Milan, consider flying an extra half an hour to Geneva which has easy airport connections.
Sounds like fun. CW

Christina

I don't think it matters really as
Amsterdam and Brussels aren't that far
apart, so if I would you I'd simply
pick the city based on the cheapest
or best airfare, that's all. That might
be Brussels as now there is a Belgian
airline (Sabena?) that has extremely
cheap flights from the US to Brussels.
If this isn't a consideration as you are
using FF miles for the flight over, also, I'd pick Amsterdam if you have to
choose only one place to see.

Polina

Carol,

I have never been to Brussels, but I have been to Amsterdam. My husband and I loved Amsterdam! It is a beautiful, friendly, and fun city. I vote for Amsterdam.

My husband and I made our first trip to Europe in June and were intimidated, too. However, when you get to Europe you'll lose your fear.

One of the mistakes we made was that we flew in and out of Amsterdam, but we traveled down to Italy. If I was to do it over again, I would fly into Amsterdam and out of Milan. The time and hassle it would save is worth the extra $$$ in my opinion.

Good luck on the planning, and have a wonderful trip!

Bob

The choice on either the Netherlands or Belgium may be clear in some people's minds, but it really comes down to personal choice. However, air gateways to Europe tend to favour Amsterdam, and so this might be a deciding factor since you are there to begin with. I concur with Brugges - a wonderful city. Ghent is also delightful, though far less touristy.

elvira

Amsterdam has wonderful art museums, Anne Frank's House, the Museum of Torture, picturesque canals (take a boat ride; the guides are great), great Indonesian food, lots of English. There's an animal preserve outside the city with an interesting art museum (kroller-muller). Brussels has great art museums (including a cartoon/comics museum, a lace museum AND a beer museum with free beer), great food (bowls of mussels), English spoken in the tourist areas, the little pisser, incredible chocolate, lots of old buildings. Either city is worth a trip, you can't go wrong.

If you've got the time, try to visit other areas. Maastricht, near the American cemetery where Patton is buried, is a pretty little town with interesting caves. Bruges and Ghent are both preserved medieval towns with lots of atmosphere (you immediately want to take up painting).

Judy

Belgium has the food. Holland has the people and English is spoken without a chip on their shoulders.

Holland hands down.

Brian in Atlanta

Amsterdam is fantastic. It's also one of the easiest cities in Europe to visit. The train from the airport to the city center takes 20 minutes and the city is so compact, walking is all that is necessary to see the best areas. Everyone speaks English. I suggest the Hotel Nova for a small, friendly, affordable central hotel.

cobbaert

Difficult choice. Choose none of both. Brugge is the place to be. Medieval city with a lot of atmosphere. Their english is not perfect, but their food is superbe. Spend at least 2 nights there (I can recommend Anselmus Hotel). You can also have a look on the website of Brugge: www.brugge.be

Enjoy your trip.

Carol

Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice. It has been very helpful. Since I first posted my question my travel plans have changed dramatically. So the good news is: we are going to do both! No wonder I was having trouble deciding as both countries have so much to offer. We will do a whirlwind tour of Amsterdam, Brussels and Brugges and limit our travels in Germany & just pass through Switzerland on our way to Rome. I know I will definitely have to return!

Kevin

Tough choice but go with Holland. Remember that if you have only gone to Amsterdam--dont tell your friends you have been to Holland. The largest percentage of Amsterdammers are not dutch, which will become very apparent as you look around. Amsterdam is a must however. Then go the cities of Delft, Edam, Volendam, Marken, Middleburg, Makkum, Hindeloopen, the Frisian Island, Staphorst, Rouveen, Giethoord, clock museum in Utrecht, church of St Jan in Gouda, and then you have only begun to see Holland! Go out into the small towns listed above and you will see an immaculate country, (seemingly) void of the prostitution and drugs of Amsterdam. There you will meet and feel what it means to be really dutch. You will fall in love with them and have to return again and again and again. We have been there 8 times and returning in August. We will be staying on farmplaces-need help finding such an accomodation--EMAIL me for the website. -Kevin