Planning May trip

You have 7 nights, right? With the night of the 16th (night 8) back in London before your flight. (Great price!)

1. Paris for the entire week with a daytrip or two is super easy by Eurostar
2. York and Edinburgh are lovely old cities and offer plenty for a week. 3 nights York and 4 in Edinburgh
3. Cornwall, Salisbury and Bath. Skip the daytrip to Stonehenge and go while in Salisbury

Amsterdam is, IMO, a zoo.

Really, since you're in London, you could fly to pretty much anywhere in Europe easily. Where else have you been (besides London)? Old sites, castles, city walks...no shortage of that in most directions, so it really just depends on which way you want to go. Agree that York, Edinburgh and the north of England/Scotland would make a nice week. And while I also agree that Amsterdam is a bit of a circus, but it's still worth a visit if you've never been there (and nearby Bruges is lovely, as is Ghent). Or you could do Paris and perhaps Normandy or the Loire Valley. It really just depends on what sounds appealing to you. Considering how well connected London is, you could pretty much pick anywhere in Europe.

Marie, we really enjoyed our week exploring Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp in Belgium. Lots of interesting architecture, art and history! Oh, and the beer!!! We only stayed in Brussels one night (arrival day in Europe) before moving on, and that was fine with us. We did stay in Amsterdam for a week once and that was about 3 days too long; the 3 Belgium locations were more to our liking.

We had friends in the lake district and visited them a few times. Been to most of England except West and Cornwall area. What other places in the Netherlands would you recommend? We had looked at Brugge and Ghent too. Omitting Paris as husband wants that city included with another week in France someday.

We spent 9 days in Amsterdam with day trips to Haarlem, Delft, Edam, and Brugge. You could easily fill one week there. We didn’t make it to The Hague or a few other cities we read about. That was my second visit to Amsterdam and I would still return. It is an easy country to navigate and the train/bus system is very efficient. Nothing is too far away.

I haven't spent much time in the Netherlands, and none of it was recent, but I have day-tripped to Den Haag (important art museum there), Utrecht and Gouda. I thought all were picturesque. Amsterdam has some very worthwhile sights, though some require pre-booking these days. Depending on your level of interest in those sights, you might find a couple of days there worthwhile despite the crowds. I am certain that I would.

Have you been to Bath yet? You could take a direct 1h 30m train from London to Bath for two nights. I would go there before Stonehenge, which is closer to Bath anyway. Unless you receive an invitation to walk around the stones at sunset, I would prioritize Bath or York before Stonehenge. You do know that you must stand behind a fence with everyone in front of you taking selfies at Stonehenge.
You can fly nonstop for $35 from London Luton airport to Amsterdam on Easyjet so why take a train. Bruges is your best place to visit in Belgium, but you can take a direct train from Amsterdam to Brussels which is convenient and then take a day trip to Bruges. I disagree with those who said don't sleep in Brussels.
In March, RSE has a new England guidebook coming out. His Amsterdam and Belgium guides are available now and you can download electronic versions from his app.

Mary Pat, my daughter actually does have a tour lined up to take her up close to Stonehenge at sunset so that's why the day trip to there. I think I may go somewhere else near there and meet up later with my husband and daughter. Thanks for the other suggestions though. Still in the planning stages.

I liked AMS over Vienna. There is so much do to in and around Amsterdam. If you've never been I pick Amsterdam. I thought Vienna was kind of old and stuff.