I asked for help in the retiree travel thread but know there are so many wise, well-travelled folks on this site, that it would be helpful to cast a wider net.
We are putting together a trip next spring starting in Amsterdam at the end of the tulip season to see the flowers, then into Belgium, possibly Luxembourg, though not sure about that (thoughts? suggestions?), and into France to Normandy Beach and then up to Paris. We are going with another couple. They have not been to Belgium but we have. We have both been to the Netherlands before, but it’s been quite some time. For us, we have been to Brussels, Brugge and Mons. Definitely looking for suggestions and recommendations for things to consider to augment our trip. We will be arriving in Amsterdam and departing from Paris. Hoping the fires in France end by then! Thanks for all ideas!
Obviously time dependent but I think Luxembourg (city) and Vianden are worth a visit if you have time. In Belgium, consider Ghent and Antwerp as well. We visited Utrecht for the first time when we went at the end of last year and were quite charmed by it, I would add that in if time in the Netherlands. (We also went to some under-visited but quite beautiful little towns in the east of the country, but they would be something of a detour from the itinerary you’ve listed as compared to, say, going on to Germany.)
I did this last year. Flew to Amsterdam. The highlight of the trip was the fabulous Keukenhof gardens. We spent one day there. Then a museum day to Van Gogh and Reichsmuseum. Then a strolling the Amsterdam neighborhoods day and visiting the Anne Frank house. (I had to log onto the ticket site at 2am on a Tuesday exactly 6 weeks before and I just barely scored tickets). Read the ticket process carefully.
Then we took a train to Bruges for a few days followed by taking a train to Paris.
To see the Normandy area, Bayeaux and Mont St. Michel we rented a car.
Amsterdam: If you haven’t been before, definitely get tickets in advance for Anne Frank house. That is not to be missed IMO. Fabulous museums too - several needed to be booked in advance. We went to Keukenhof gardens early one morning. As the crowds started to increase (a little before noon), we left the gardens, rented bikes and went for a 20km bike ride amongst tulip and daffodil fields. Small quaint towns as you bike by - absolutely loved this.
Brugge is a lovely little city. Liked the tour of the beer factory there, got to taste raw unfiltered beer. Got bikes and went to Damme one morning. Loved biking in the countryside.
In Brussels, we tried to walk and hit a lot of the murals dotting the city. Was a fun scavenger hunt type of activity. We also visited the Atomium and Mini Europe. Then took the train/bus to Waterloo - one place I really wanted to visit and D indulged me. We also took the train to Ghent one day - we’d have enjoyed this one more if the weather hadn’t been so brutally hot!
We just took a very similar trip (minus France)! We started with a few days in Brussels, then drove to Luxembourg and stayed one night, then a couple of nights in the Ardennes, followed by two nights in Bruges and a final night in Amsterdam. While in Brussels, we took a day trip to Antwerp and spend another day in the city’s museums (excellent art museum and don’t miss the musical instrument museum). We didn’t have much time in Luxembourg but were able to explore the Old City down at the bottom of the cliffs and the more modern city on the bluffs. One of the highlights of the trip was Dinant, a beautiful town that was just a stop for us between Brussels and Luxembourg (didn’t stay the night, but it was lovely). In Bruges, we took a day trip to Ghent and spent the other day poking around Bruges. In the Ardennes, we spent time both with WWI/WWII sites and in Spa. We had relatively little time in Amsterdam (we decided to spend our last night there because our D had done a junior semester abroad in Amsterdam last fall and wanted to hit some of her favorite spots).
A couple of years ago, we went to France and spent some time in Normandy (stayed in Bayeux). We could have spent a whole week there and would still have wanted more. Highly recommend Etretat and the surrounding coastal towns, Bayeux (don’t miss the cathedral!), any and all of the D-Day beaches and historic sites, and Mont St.-Michel.
ETA: We didn’t spend much time in Amsterdam on this visit, but we’ve been there before and highly recommend the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmusem, the Anne Frank House, the Bloemenmarkt, Vondelpark, and Albert Cuyp Market. Also, if you are interested in Indonesian food, Amsterdam is a good place to try it (try a Rijsttafel for the best variety). Generally speaking, in addition to signature national foods, Europe usually has very good food of its formerly colonized peoples (I know it sounds a little morbid, but it’s true). So try Indonesian food in the Netherlands, central/west African food in France and Belgium, Vietnamese food in France…
Canal boat tours are good in Amsterdam, Paris, and Bruges (I think they do them in Ghent, too).
I’d be happy to add more detail if you have questions about any of it!
We’ve been to Amsterdam a couple of times, and have only done the usual tourist things. Make sure you order your timed tickets to the Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank house in advance.
In Normandy, we stayed in Bayeux. Unfortunately, the tapestry is in England while the museum is being renovated, but the city is still interesting. I highly recommend the full-day WWII beach tour with Overlord - it was a highlight of our trip. IIRC, it was 7 of us plus the guide in the van.
We were dropping the rental car at CDG and stopped at Giverny to see the gardens along the way.
This is a bit off the beaten path, but we stayed here twice and it was wonderful. It is a youth hostel where you can stay in an actual 13th century castle a short distance from Amsterdam. They also served a great breakfast. You can stay in family rooms, not just the typical youth hostel dormitory. (They did also have a more modern building, so make sure you get the castle proper).
It’s been completely renovated this year – I assume they made it even nicer, without losing any of its charm. It also had lovely gardens.
From Amsterdam it’s easy to take the train on daytrips. Delft, Utrecht and the Hague, Leiden, Gouda, the open-air museum at Zaanse Schans, and more are places we’ve enjoyed visiting on daytrips over the years. Also Mike’s Bike Tours in Amsterdam was a fun way to visit a bit of countryside close-up and these days they have e-bikes.
We spent almost 2 weeks in Normandy/Brittany and felt like there was so much more left to see! Rouen, Honfleur, and Étretat were favorites. If you like the Impressionists then you can still recognize some of the buildings today in Trouville-sur-Mer. In Brittany I can highly recommend Dinan and Rennes. A car is useful in the region to visit anything but the major cities.
One of my day trip highlights out of Amsterdam was taking the train to Rotterdam to see the cube houses - incredibly unique and not something you can see elsewhere. And do go inside the one they use as a sort of museum.
We did similar. I think I learned of Overlord tours on CC, we also stopped in Giverny on the way back to Paris to fly home. Many of my lodging choices were made by suggestions from recommendations on CC.
We flew to Amsterdam, the tulips were on my bucket list. It didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t get tickets to Anne Frank but we’re walking by late in the day and the line was short. We were able to just walk in. We also did a Jewish tour that took us into the Sephardic synagogue.We didn’t stop in Belgium but took the train to Paris.
After Paris we picked up a car and visited the Loire valley and Normandy. It ranks as one of my favorite Europe trips.
