Last Minute Trip - Where to Go?

I don't know how you can go wrong with any of them. I'm planning a trip to all 3 of those cities in May. They all have great art museums but I am really looking forward to Amsterdam because I've been to Paris twice this year and it will be very different.
Amsterdam has the Resistance museum (I'm planning on visiting).

How exciting, Kathleen!

My advice is to get a dice and roll it. 1 or 4 is Amsterdam, 2 or 5 is London, 3 or 6 is Paris. It sounds silly but if you do it, and you’re not as excited about where it landed, it’s telling you something that’s harder to articulate. Then it narrows it down to two that you could combine.

The solo trip is a chance to do something you might not normally do. A cooking class, an art class, rent a bike in a town outside Amsterdam, go to some obscure museum, splurge at a unique hotel, etc.

Apparently, January 17th is National Tulip Day in the Netherlands so there is an event going on in Amsterdam that day with music and free tulips to celebrate the start of tulip season. It would be fun to see all of the tulips, even if I can’t take them home. I completely forgot that the 19th is MLK so I’m already off work so that gives me an extra day to work with. I’m thinking I’ll fly into London for 4 nights, take the Eurostar to Amsterdam for the last 4 nights before flying home. It looks like there are still reservations available for the Anne Frank House for that week too!

Sounds great! They’re all good. Either London or Paris has plenty to do and see for a full week even if you’ve been before. Amsterdam is great too but I think of it as more of a four day long kind of place, even with a daytrip or two. All of them have lots of good museums and other indoor things which you will appreciate on a January trip. My weather stats book says that on average Amsterdam is a few degrees colder in January with a bit more rain than the other two, but the difference is not very substantial. I will say that I’ve been to all three in the winter and Amsterdam’s wind whipped cold rain coming off the North Sea was particularly memorable and not in a good way! A good combo for many is Amsterdam with Bruges/Ghent/Brussels in Belgium, for which January is not ideal, but should still be enjoyable. Rick’s advice generally to stick to the bigger cities for winter trips is good.

Don't overthink it. Just book air to start, because if the award options go away, all your
anticipation will be for nothing. I don't think hotels in the cities will be that big of a
constraint in January (the low demand is, after all, the reason the airlines are offering
deals to try and fill up the planes).

From Amsterdam, you could also do a short trip to Brussels, Ghent, Rotterdam, or
Bruges.

I hadn’t heard of Tulip Day, sounds interesting. Of course those tulips are grown under glass, there are no blooming tulip fields until much later in the spring. While you can’t bring cut flowers home, and they wouldn’t keep anyway, you can buy tulip bulbs certified ok for import to the US at Amsterdam airport (and perhaps other places) which make a nice souvenir to plant later in 2026 if you have a garden.

I think you will enjoy any of these cities- I will just note that I was in Amsterdam in mid January last year and it was extremely cold (even colder than London) so just be prepared for that! It looks like you won't be visiting Paris this trip but in case helpful to others I will mention- I was also in Paris in mid January the year before, and expected it to be a lot quieter than normal, but it was surprisingly busy. Some things you might like in London:

-History- British Museum, IWM, Tower of London- I would also have recommended Museum of London but it won't have reopened yet
-Art- National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, V&A (tho that is more design than art)
-Architecture- depending on what styles/eras you are interested in- lots of historic homes (especially some nice Robert Adam ones), beautiful railway stations (like Brunel's Paddington station), and a wide range of churches (Hawksmoor and Wren), plus more modern buildings in the City/Canary Wharf

Flight booked, into London and out of Amsterdam. I’ve applied for the eTA for the UK. Now, I need to decide on hotels and book a few things that need to be pre-booked. The great thing about living in Minnesota is that at least the weather will generally be slightly better than it will be at home this time of year.

Have a great trip!!

Yeah! Have a wonderful time!

“ Apparently, January 17th is National Tulip Day in the Netherlands so there is an event going on in Amsterdam that day with music and free tulips to celebrate the start of tulip season.”

I don’t want to you to get your hopes up, because “national tulip day” really isn’t a thing in the Netherlands. It’s a “holiday“ made up by the tulip growers. It isn’t celebrated anywhere except at the Museumplein (Museum Square) in Amsterdam where tourists can come and pick tulips that were brought there from greenhouses. The tulips in the flower fields won’t bloom until 3 months later.

Besides that, I think mid-January is a great time to visit Amsterdam. The tourist crowds are not there yet and so the museums are relatively uncrowded.

We are fall/winter travelers due to my work schedule, and I urge you not to disregard the warnings of cold weather in Amsterdam. We were there last year in early December and have never been so cold. Yes, I am from the South but I am pretty hearty when it comes to cold weather!
If you decide to brave it, I can recommend an excellent guide!

On my list for a future solo visit to Amsterdam:
https://sweetshotel.amsterdam
This is dispersed accommodation in bridge houses around the city. Don't stay too far out, though.
Also consider Hotel Nadia for its affordability and great location near the Westerkirke. https://www.nadia.nl
I did a lengthy review after my stay last March. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands-reviews/hotel-nadia-recommendation-with-lots-of-caveats
A meal at this cozy restaurant (close to Nadia) will warm your heart and soul: http://zwaantje-restaurant.nl
An evening canal tour in January sounds insane, but Those Dam Boat Guys offer blankets and hot water bottles and an enjoyable time. I'm sure the others do, as well.

I frequently see comments along the lines of I’m from Minnesota, or other place with cold winters, so no worries about Europe. I’m sure that’s true to some extent, but keep in mind that back home in Minnesota you likely spend a cold winter day mostly in your well heated home, office and/or car, knowing exactly where you are going, rather than walking around your city sightseeing, finding the bus stop, looking for a restaurant, and so on. It’s quite a different experience to be doing that, and Northern European winter weather has a particularly damp, penetrating quality that chills to the bone more than a colder, but drier day at home. Don’t get me wrong, winter travel in Europe is great, but as others have said, don’t underestimate it, pack waterproof layers, and plan on plenty of museums and cozy cafes!