Europe Itinerary Help

Belgium is one of my favorites. I would stay in Ghent or Antwerp and do day trips from there. The highlight of Brussels is the Grand place worth seeing on a daytrip.

Although there is a thriving market of tours a day trip from Paris to Normandy takes too long to get there and back 4 hours each way.
If you never been to Paris before I would save Normandy for another time.

Book your ticket Paris to Amsterdam a soon as they go on sale. It is cheaper that way.

The Thalys high-speed train stops at Schiphol so you can go straight from the airport to Brussels. Get your tickets as soon as possible to save cost, but that will commit you to a particular train so leave plenty of time in case of any flight or entry delays.

After your Belgium time, another Thalys train will get you to Paris fast, again line up that ticket well in advance.

With your time frame, I'd suggest saving all your Paris time for Paris. As the previous poster noted, Normandy is too far for a day trip. Really there's more than enough to see and do in Paris for a week or two or more. Five nights will be enough for an enjoyable introduction, especially if you spend the time in the city instead of going elsewhere.

Thank you for your advice! I guess I need to remember I'll just have to come back :)

Oh yeah you can also use Izy a low cost high speed rail service owned by Thalys. Compare the prices and travel times between Brussels and Paris and you will see how you can save money

https://www.izy.com/en

and

https://www.thalys.com/nl/en/

The cities of Europe are dramatic and beautiful but some of the best memories I have are when we were on small roads heading to places that weren't filled with tourists. You could spend all of your time in the cities on your itinerary and have a great experience and also have some time to rejuvenate or you could fill each day with dawn to dusk sightseeing, which is how we traveled when we were younger and enjoyed every minute of we traveled. Your initial comments suggest you'd like to experience more of the places you are going to visit than you could in the capital cities where people are pleasant but more reserved than you encounter in more rural locations.

How many of you are traveling? Are you comfortable driving? The Dutch and Belgian coasts have some great sights, so it may make more sense to drive, especially when you starting adding the cost of rail passes or tickets. I'd definitely recommend a night in Brugge, Belgium, and a canal tour while you are there; it's a good place to enjoy the ales of the region and enjoy moules et frite.

Whether you want to do day trips or stay in Normandy depends on what you want to see. If WWII history is drawing you into the area, there are the beaches and cemeteries as well as an interesting war museum near Caen. We have been to the region twice and still haven't seen Omaha Beach because we've used our time there to enjoy the coastal villages and If you want to see historic/medieval France, give yourself a day to see Rouen and Honfleur and another day to see Mont Saint Michel, booking a night near the abbey to see it at sunset and again at dawn; it is worth the investment of time. I will be heading back to Mont Saint Michel for the 3rd time this fall and believe it is one of those special places that is worth visiting whenever you are in the vicinity. On the other hand, three days wondering Paris and a day trip to Versailles is a reasonable plan as well.

Wishing you a great journey whatever you choose to do,

I highly recommend staying in Bruges. It can be a bit touristy during the day, but at nighttime it is absolute magic. It feels wonderfully quiet, cozy, and all your own. Plus, it’s musuems and sights are stellar. The food and beer in Belgium is some of Europe’s best. You’ll be staying in Paris and Amsterdam so let Bruges be your small town stay. Ghent is fine, but much more workaday.

I loved Bruges too, even though it was so touristy especially during the day. Much nicer and quieter at night.

I prefer staying in Ghent. It's not as touristy as Bruges and has a good selection of restaurants and is very pretty at night when the medieval buildings and bridges are floodlit. It's also cheaper. And since it's between Bruges and Brussels, it's better situated for day trips.

Normandy is far for a day trip. Whether you take time from Paris depends on what you want to see and do in Paris and how much you want to visit Normandy. I don't think anyone can decide this for you.

If this is your first trip to Paris, I would not include Normandy this time around. A day-trip consigns you to a lot of time on the tour bus (or slightly less time on a train if you take advantage of Overlord's full-day tour from Bayeux that picks people up at the Bayeux train station). And you only have 4 days in Paris to begin with. Normandy has a lot more to enjoy than just the D-Day sites. Leave it for your next trip to France when you have time to spend several days in the area.