My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe in September and need some advice on our itinerary. We have been to Europe before and have always used trains but are not opposed to renting a car if suggested. We enjoy hiking, good food and beer gardens and wine, museums to a certain extent, and wandering to the off beat parts of town to explore. Here is what we have so far:
Arrive Amsterdam in morning: Sleep 3 nights Sept 14-16:
sites:AFH,
Rijksmuseum,
Van Gogh,
royal palace,
noordermrarket,
De Pijp distrct,
walking/biking tour?,
Naarden, Zaanse Schans
Leave Sept. 17 train to Bruges, sleep 2 nights here.
bell tower,
Groeninge museum,
church of our lady,
memling museum,
brewery tour
Tuesday Sept 19 train to Brussels stay over 1 night?? (on way to Strasbourg France). I am not sure if Brussels is too big and what to see here in a short stay or if we should stop here at all.
Wednesday Sept 20 (if staying in Brussels we could take a late train) train to Strasbourg for 3 nights.
cathedral Notre Dame,
petite France,
L'Orangerie,
wine tour to Colmar
Saturday Sept 23 train/car to Rhine Valley.
I can't figure out where to base here (Mainz/Bacharach) for short river cruise St Goar/hiking/castels
We fly home from Frankfurt Monday Sept 25 and would love to check out Frankfurt and Sachsenhausen/beer gardens for the last night if possible.
Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!!
Erin
Posted by
Green Bay
20389 posts
I am not a big fan of Brussels, maybe its just me. So I'd take an early train from Bruges to Brussels Midi, store bags at the station, check out the Grote Markt, have some lunch and a Belgian beer, then back to Midi to get the direct TGV to Strasbourg at 15:14.
Mainz would be a convenient stopping place. Or maybe Frankfurt itself since you have same things to see/do there. It would be very easy to get a train to Bingen to get the K-D boat the St Goar and get back to Frankfurt Sunday.
Or, if you are fireworks fan, there is a big display scheduled for Saturday Sept 23 over the Rhine in Boppard. Sunday, after doing some castle tours, take the K-D boat up river to Bingen, then train to Frankfurt for Monday flight.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8223 posts
Why don't you just spend more time in Amsterdam and take a day trip or two into the Dutch countryside?
Then take a train down to Cologne to see the incredible Duomo. (Or you could rent a car there.)
The train runs right up the Rhine River from Cologne through Koblenz and the tiny town of Bacharach--a popular place to spend the night. It's a short train ride into Frankfurt from there.
We've spent the night 3-4 times around Bacharach and find it a relaxing place to spend a little time--watching the tour boats go up and down The Rhine. The boats move a little too slow for our tastes, however.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
This might even out your time demands, given your wish list.
•Sept 14 arrive in Amsterdam
•Sept 17 train to Ghent
(for Bruges/Antwerp/Brussels)
•Sept 20 train to Strasbourg
(for Colmar)
•Sept 22 train to Bacharach
(for Rhine Valley)
•Sept 24 train to Frankfurt
•Sept 25 fly home from Frankfurt