Trip Itinerary - Europe
 

Hello - So I just bought some planes tickets for March 2019 and I am trying to finalize my itinerary. All comments are welcome. This will be our first time to any of these countries.

Day 1 - Land in London at 7:00AM from US
Day 2 to Day 4 - Full days in London
Day 5 - Train to Paris in the morning
Day 6 to Day 8 - Full days in Paris
Day 9 - Train to Brussels in the morning
Day 10 - Full day in Brussels
Day 11 - Train to Amsterdam in the morning
Day 12 to Day 13 - Full days in Amsterdam
Day 14 - Flight back to US at noon

Do you recommend I take any day trips to other cities while we are in London and Paris, or the 3.5 days I will be in those cities could all be spend in just touring the main attractions?

Do ya'll think I should take out Brussels and just spend that extra day in Amsterdam? I was thinking I may as well just stop there, get some waffles and chocolates, since I am going right thru it on my way to Amsterdam.

Please let me know what are your recommendations for what to see/visit in the cities, besides the main attractions.

Thank you!

You have so little time in London and Paris, I can't imagine trying to fit in a day trip. Indeed, you would be better off restricting your trip to just London and Paris, and you would still only get a small taste of what they have to offer. You won't see even the main attractions in that short time. The schedule you have laid out would give you a glimpse of four cities. Some people like to travel that way, some prefer to have more days spent being in places rather than traveling. Five of your 14 days are travel days. Up to you.

Looks like you've open-jawed into London and out of Amsterdam. As said above, you have 9 non-travel days in four cities in four countries. You will be fairly worn out, but you can certainly see the highlights of London and Paris in just a couple of days in each. You will really need to boil down on your thoughts for each city and what you "must" see. Then work backwards. I would at a minimum reduce this to three cities, cancelling either Paris or Brussels since you leave from Amsterdam. You could certainly train from London to Amsterdam direct and reduce it to two cities. If you split your days to say Days 1-9 in London, travel on day 10, then 11-14 in the Netherlands before you fly home, you could add some day trips to London.

I think you need to drop something. For most people it would be Brussels (not a favorite for many people - though I love it - and there is nothing special about waffles and chocolate that you can't get elsewhere). Me? I'd divide the time between two cities.

Yes I'd cut Brussels, a city that underwhelms many here, and put day in London and Paris. Book your train tickets as soon as sites allow it - varies just do a dummy search and see how far out they are taking reservations. You can score deep discounts by buying early but those discounted ducats are limited in number and can sell out quick so early bird gets the worm. www.eurostar.com for Chunnel train London-Paris; www.thalys.com for Thalys trains Paris-Brussels; Brussels-Amsterdam or Paris-Amsterdam. www.seat61.com has loads on doing that yourself online - general info trains and what to expect also www.ricksteves.cm and BETS-European Rail Experts.

>>Do you recommend I take any day trips to other cities while we are in London and Paris,<<

Absolutely not -- and especially in London you have less time than you probably imagine. Due to jet lag and the ENORMITY of the place you will likely get to no more than maybe six of the many major sites. In that short a time I'd personally only do London and Paris, but since you apparently have already booked your flights, do just London/Paris/Amsterdam. I'd tack at least 2 days on to London (partly to account for jet lag), add 1 day to Paris, and what's left over to A'dam.

day trips can always be done on a whim - say you find after a few days in London or Paris you are tired of a big tourist clogged city it is easy to take a train to some nearby city that will be much different than those huge cities. Versailles in Paris is an easy day trip - being just a few miles by train - could be a half day trip.

Leave out Brussels and get your waffles across the way from any coffee shop in Amsterdam. But put Nutella on them instead of chocolate...LOL

>>say you find after a few days in London or Paris you are tired of a big tourist clogged city<<

Tired of Paris or London with just 3 days? If that's the case save the $/€/£. But in any case 'after a few days' you will have already moved on to the next city so not quite sure what Pal means.

Thanks everyone for the your input. I will skip over Brussels. So now we have 4 full days in London, 4 full days in Paris and 2 full days in Amsterdam. So technically on Day 1, we land so early that we can rest for the morning and still have all afternoon/night to walk around, and same thing to the "Day of travel" between London and Paris, and Paris and Amsterdam, is just a couple of hours by train.

Day 1 - Land in London at 7:00AM from US
Day 2 to Day 5 - Full days in London
Day 6 - Train to Paris in the morning
Day 7 to Day 10 - Full days in Paris
Day 11 - Train to Amsterdam in the morning
Day 12 to Day 13 - Full days in Amsterdam
Day 14 - Flight back to US at noon

"Just a couple of hours by train" seems so simple on the face of it. In reality, you have to get up, make sure you're packed, check out, grab at least a coffee, get yourself to the train station, find the right track (and you're dealing with BIG, BUSY train stations), get yourself to it when the train arrival is announced, get out your tickets and passports and stand in line for security, find your car, find your seat, ride the train, and do most of that in reverse on the other end, plus orient yourself to your new surroundings, and in some cases, new language. If you're traveling with kids (and you haven't said whether or not you are), it's even more complicated. Someone's tired and cranky, someone's thirsty, someone needs the toilet......

OK, I don't want to sound like Debbie Downer, but I don't think most people doing this sort of thing for the first time give much thought to the actual on-the-ground logistics and timing. It's really different if you've done this exercise a few dozen or more times. The first time, well, it's bewildering...nothing like the "just a couple of hours" that it sounds like on paper. So when you say "so technically...," scratch that.


So don't count on getting much at all done on Days 6 and 11, and certainly nothing on Day 14. And on Day 1 if you spend 1/2 the day resting, your body clock will likely be off for the rest of the trip. It will be a slow day no matter what.

>>say you find after a few days in London or Paris you are tired of a big tourist clogged city<<

Tired of Paris or London with just 3 days? If that's the case save the $/€/£. But in any case 'after a few days' you will have already moved on to the next city so not quite sure what Pal means.>

Well first I was thinking if they stayed 4 days in a city or 5 - they may find they've seen what they want in a London or Paris and want to do a day trip - like to nearby Oxford from London or to Normandy's D-day Beaches from Paris or Versailles.

Did not say I was recommending that but that it is possible once there without any advance planning and easily done. Just giving options janis, just options and IMO the more the better.

Your new plan is much better, but just to piggy back on StCirq's post: A 'couple of hours' train ride usually eats up at least half a day. Packing, checking out, travel to St Pancras (20 to 30+ mins unless you are staying right AT Kings Cross/St Pancras), 45 mins advance check in/passport control, the actual Euro Star trip, travel from Gare du Nord to your Paris hotel, checking in (assuming the room is ready), unpacking . . . and about 6 hours is shot. More if you have to leave the bags and return later to check in).

As for having half a day on arrival -- true -- but major sightseeing or any indoor activities like museums should be avoided. Fresh air, walking, an early-ish/light dinner and to bed by 9 or 9:30 PM and hopefully your body clock will be semi-OK by the next morning. So basically Day 1 is spent strolling/getting your bearings.

You can usually fit in 2 major sites and one or two 'minor' things each day. For one example the Tower of London will take the entire morning or even longer, then lunch and maybe St Paul's in the Afternoon -- but you might be able to fit in Borough Market or the Museum of London or the Globe or Tate Modern between the Tower and St Paul's but most of those are also time intensive so it would be a crunch.

Or Westminster Abbey and The Cabinet War Rooms are two major sites near each other -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon, plus maybe the Royal Parks, walking by Buckingham Palace, seeing Horse Guards, Trafalgar Sq. If it is a Thursday there is a late opening at the National Gallery so you could fit that in.

>>Did not say I was recommending that<<

As I recall you are often advising 3 days is PLENTY for London . . .

And you lose an hour on the clock going from U K to France.

<<As I recall you are often advising 3 days is PLENTY for London >>

jan, I do not arbitrarily say that but something like IMO -IN MY OPINION 3 days may be enough for some or many first-time travelers - like those who may want more to see more cities than more of fewer cities IME and this is my opinion based on what I think many first-time travelers (including myself on my first trip to Europe) want. And if landing in or traveling a distance in that city I always advise not to plan on doing much that day so would be 4 nights and 3 FULL days.

Cheers!

The OP has exactly three full days in each city and a day of transit. Yes better to stay longer in Paris or London but since OP is set to fly out of Amsterdam not possible so the revised itinerary for circumstances is perfect if not perfect for everyone.

I think the OP has to decide for themself and their own desires and travel style. Plenty of people are satisfied with only 3 days in a major capital city. So no, it isn't "better" to spend more time in each city, it's just a preference for some people.
Given the OP is even considering day trips, I think he knows himself that he can tire of the main tourist site checklist after a couple days.

This may come as a shock, but some people ARE tired of big cities like that after a couple days. I'm not even that crazy about London myself, and I know others who aren't either.

Yes and who is to say a day trip to Oxford or Windsor from London may not be as whatever for someone as another day in London, ticking sights that must be seen off checklists? And you see something of England besides London.

I find it toallaty stupid not to stop at Brussels en route to Amsterdam. But if you want to follow (bad) advice from some here, do drop Bruxelles. I'd personally do Lille and Bruxelles above Amsterdam, but ok, I live close to Lille myself.
don't forget train stops at Bruxelles, so you could stop and spend at least a few hours.

Yes it is easy to build say 3-4 hours into Brussels when going between Paris and Amsterdam - see the Grand' Place - 'Europe's Drawing Room' or whatever they call this awesome town square, one of the finest anywhere - and Mannequin Pis - statue of little boy peeing that has become, a symbol or Brussels. And poke around the gardens around the Royal Palace, etc. But to break your trip will cost you a bit more money as you will need two train tickets which will cost considerably more than the cheapest Paris-Amsterdam ticket. If OP had time I'd suggest staying in Bruges after spending a few hours in Brussels.

Frankly, I'd choose Bruxelles over Amsterdam any day, and not for that stupid Mannequin Pis, but I know I'm in the minority, and it seems OP is flying home out of Amsterdam, so it makes sense, given his very short trip, to drop something.