Where to travel

I love both Brugge and Koln; Brugge's is in two main areas. Nurnberg has a great Christmas market, too, if you want to go that far.

By all means, take a weekend trip down to Cologna. It's a somewhat underrated city exclusive of their incredible Duomo.

I made a quick trip to Gouda many years ago and remember thinking it was picturesque. I've heard that Maastricht is also nice, but I haven't been there.

If you're interested in art, give serious consideration to seeing the Kröller-Müller museum in Gelderland and the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam.

This loop including the Mosel and the Rhine would be an interesting jaunt.

Liege >> Luxembourg >> Trier >> Koblenz >> Cologne >> Aachen >> Maastricht

Thanks Zoe, David, acraven, and David from Australia for the opinions and advice! Still open to more ideas but will add Gouda to the list. Strongly leaning toward Cologne although I hate to be that close to Belgium and not at least see Bruges. I appreciate the suggestion of the Kroller-Muller museum and will try to add that in on our trip down to Arnhem. David in Australia - we have rented an apartment for our stay in the Netherlands and while I am willing to pay for a hotel for 2-3 nights elsewhere a lengthy jaunt is not possible.

Yeah - if you're going to be there in December - Bruges is perfect. We did a 24 hour overnight day trip from Paris a few Decembers ago. Just a gorgeous, postcard looking city. And the Christmas markets were lovely.

Dave - you obviously felt it was worth it even for one night so I will have to reconsider and maybe make both trips.

As long as you are considering 2 or 3 night stays....what about Paris?

The Netherlands is a beautiful little country and there are so many towns from which to pick. Five weeks will truly give you time to get to know this country better than most tourists. You didn't mention Hoorn. My favorite little town is Volendam. It also has some wonderful castles that you might want to look into. I imagine for 5 weeks you will have a bike? Chart out towns for a day's roundtrip on your bike so you can see the countryside, no matter what time of year. Combo's of ferries, trains, and bike should get you to most places within the country easily.

Hey Nance,

I literally knew very little about it. We planned an 8 day Paris trip - and my wife did alot of the research and suggested we go up there for a day. After walking through the city for a couple of hours after arrival - I remember mentioning how every corner you turned just presented another postcard-esque view. An added bonus was that there's a Bosch in one of the museum's there. FWIW - we stayed here http://www.huiskoning.be/welcome-to-huis-koning - and it was wonderful.

Wherever you decide - hope you have a great trip!!!

Richard - England, Paris and maybe Italy are next years trip! Paris sure is tempting though.

Wray - it was our exact intention to stay several weeks in Netherlands because we loved Amsterdam and Haarlem so much. Hoorn and Volendam look like interesting additions - thank you for the suggestions.

Thanks Dave. Hubby would also like to see Bruges so I think we will just stay in Cologne for two nights and Bruges for two nights during different weeks. Train tickets and hotels are relatively inexpensive for the one time experience in each place.

I did a day trip from A'dam to Rotterdam a few years ago and enjoyed it. I prefer staying in Ghent than Bruges. I found Bruges to be touristy, Ghent is quieter, more of a university town and very charming after dark when the medieval bridges and buildings are floodlit.

Thanks Chani!