14-Days Amsterdam-France-Maybe Belgium from NYC

I would plan for three days in Amsterdam, then move south to Belgium. Brugges is a wonderful city, well preserved, almost like going back to the Middle Ages. Ghent and Brussels are worth a stop as well. In my opinion, you can see Brussels in a day and Ghent and Brugges in another day. You can take the train down to Paris and spend 4-5 days there. If you want to see some of the French countryside, you have many options.

Option 1 Normandy. We did a lengthy tour of Normandy from Le Harve in one very full day. Better to spend about three days there. The site of D-Day WWII battle with American Cemetery, the beaches themselves and key sites are best done on a tour, but you could do it yourself by renting a car. Don't miss going to Bayeux and see that ancient cathedral, built by the Normans with wealth gained from the conquest of England. The Bayeux Tapestry is not to be missed. It is 900 years old and its colors are still vibrant. It tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

Mt. St. Michel is on the border of Normandy and Brittany and worth a visit. If you have time visit Cherbourg.

Option 2 Loire Valley. You can visit many of the huge Chateaux, including Chamborg (sp) that includes an amazing starcase designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. Blois is a good place to stay for a couple of days or more. My may wish to combine Normandy with the Loire Valley.

Option 3 Burgundy and Provence. Take the high speed train down to Lyon and the interesting places abound on the Rhone River. A river cruise is a great idea, we did that. You will end in Arles.

Other choices include heading to Verdun for the famous WWI battle site. You can see Verdun in one day and then head either to Luxembourg or to Alsance and Strassbourg.

Assuming 13 nights, I would keep this simple and avoid changing locales very often. You could fly into Amsterdam, spend the first four or five nights there, then take the train to Brussels, and from there catch a train to Ostend or another Belgian beach resort. (Here's a pretty good overview.) You could stay 2-4 nights there and use some of the time for day trips to Ghent or Bruges or anywhere else you might be interested in. Then take the train to Paris and spend the rest of your time there.

If you want to move around a little more, you could pick additional destinations. (Say 2 nights in Ghent and 2 nights at the coast. Or a couple of nights in Delft.) But it's easy to visit a lot of Belgium and the Netherlands on day trips and coming back to base for sleep.

We spent 9 days in Amsterdam and did quite a few day trips. We went by train to delft, and Haarlem (make reservations for the Corrie Ten Boon house in Haarlem ahead of time, similar to Anne Frank house, google it) and on the local bus out to the countryside (website localbus.nl has details). You can also rent bicycles in Vondelpark or to ride out to the countryside. The Dutch Resistence museum has a great section for children. There is lots to see and do in Amsterdam, once you start reading and researching you will not have any problem filling a week even without museums.

Thank you so much for this incredibly useful feedback...
I have a follow-up reply to Lane: You say "it's easy to visit a lot of Belgium and the Netherlands on day trips and coming back to base for sleep" - Where do you recommend our 'base' should be? Brussels? Brugge? Or at the beach resort? or just stay in Amsterdam?

Hey Lane - Sorry I think I misread your last post - You're saying to stay at the Beach Resort in Belgium and then visit Ghent and Brugges from there....I get it.
This is all wonderful....Thanks so much!

Ok - So now I'd like to run this preliminary itinerary by you. Do you see any problems with this? We'd stay in the same hotel for all nights at each destination.

Day 1: Leave USA
Day 2: Arrive Amsterdam (3 nights)
Day 5: Arrive Brugges OR Ostend (2 nights)
Day 7: Arrive Paris (3 nights)
Day 10: Arrive Bayeux (3 nights)
Day 13: Arrive Paris (1 night)
Day 14: Go home to USA

I might recommend heading straight to Normandy after Bruge, and then keeping all of your Paris time together. It might make for a little bit longer of a travel day, but you would avoid an extra hotel change.

I have a similar itinerary on my upcoming trip. What I suggest to you is instead of going to Paris then Bayeux and Paris again for your last night, is to take the train fron Belgium to Lille, France and rent a car there. From Lille, you can explore Normandy by car then drop the car off in Caen and take the train to Paris for a total of 4 consecutive nights there. A car in Normandy will enable you to explore places like Honfleur or Etretat that is difficult to get to by public transport. We are staying in Bayeux as well and it looks like there's plenty of parking within the town itself.

Yes! That is perfect advice - We will take the train to Lille - My guess is that is a bit tricky if we are departing from Bruges?
**Wait - I just checked - That is a very short train ride....Wonderful!! We will rend a car there and drive - It will be a beautiful trip...Thanks so much!

I agree with your revised schedule. Stay i Brugge not Oostende. It seems to have better rail connections. Your trip is very similar to one I am planning. Save Paris for your final destination. Enjoy!

Keep it simple ....
Day 1: Leave USA
Day 2: Arrive Amsterdam (4 nights)
Day 3: Amsterdam
Day 4: Amsterdam
Day 5: Day to Haarlem/Den Haag
Day 6: Train to Ghent (3 nights)
Day 7: Day to Bruges
Day 8: Day to Antwerp
Day 9: Train via Brussels to Paris (5 nights)
Day 10: Paris
Day 11: Paris
Day 12: Paris
Day 13: Day to Versailles
Day 14: Go home to USA

I see what you're saying: Eliminate Normandy/Bayeux - That's a possibility. But if we do decide to keep it, we'll just have to suck it up with all the traveling. Or eliminate some of Belgium....