Going to Amsterdam, Belgium and Cologne in March- what are your favorite things?

My favorite thing in Brussels - by far - was my Art Nouveau tour with Arau: http://www.arau.org/en. Other than this, I found Brussels to be a big disappointment.

Bruges is lovely, and wandering around will take you off the beaten path a bit, but it's still a very heavily visited town. I did like it despite this; just be prepared.

Antwerp, easily reached from either Bruges or Brussels, was for me more enjoyable than either, and far less touristed.

I saw Ghent as a day trip, and my first impressions were not so positive, but by the end of the day I had warmed up to it. Many do like it a lot.

These are the Belgian Big Four, but there are lots of other places in the country, many easily visited as a daytrip from Brussels. I took a day trip from Brussels to Tournai, which was very nice and not at all touristed. However, I found little English here, so if you don't have survival French, you may not enjoy it as much as I did.

My tip for lodging in Amsterdam is that demand outstrips supply, so book as far in advance as you can, lower your expectations, and don't expect great value for money. For some less pessimistic but still realistic advice, here's a great page, whether you're looking for a "cheap" hotel or not: http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/amsterdam-hotel-advice.html

If you are interested in WW1, consider a day tour to Ypres from Bruges. We went with Quasimodo. It was fascinating & humbling. Also in Bruges, the De Halve Maan brewery tour was good.

Consider Haarlem for accommodation instead of Amsterdam. It's a lovely historical city, not yet overcrowded with tourists, worth visiting for its own right, if only for the Frans Hals Museum and the Teylers Museum. It's less than 20 mins by frequent train to Amsterdam and 30 mins from Schiphol airport with one change (or a direct bus connection).
Less obvious things to do in Amsterdam is visiting one of those grand canal houses, such as www.bijbelsmuseum.nl/en/about/about-museum, and the impressive 17th-century Portuguese Synagogue (http://jck.nl/en/location/portuguese-synagogue).
With the short distances day trips to Leiden, The Hague, Delft and/or Utrecht are easily made.
In Belgium you'll find Gent a good base. A lively city, only half an hour by train from both Brugge and Brussel, and one hour from Antwerpen. In Antwerpen you'll probably like the intimate museum www.museummayervandenbergh.be/en
Cologne (Köln) might come as a disappointment.
The only train planning you'll have to do are the international trains. From the Netherlands to Belgium you have the choice between the Intercity and the Thalys. The Intercity doesn't require reservation. Tickets for the high-speed Thalys can come with a considerable discount when bought in advance. For schedules and tickets go to www.b-europe.com/Travel

Good post by Harold. I love Anwerp. Cologne will NOT disappoint, especially if you like museums. Don't miss Decorative Arts MAK and Kolumba. Special interest: Kathe Kollwitz. The adjacent medieval art and Ethnographic museums are worth the short subway ride. Interesting Jewish archaeological zone, and mikveh (if open.) Heavily restored old town section. ("Wiederaufbauen")

Order your Anne Frank House tickets immediately. Do not wait. I prefer staying in Amsterdam and not Haarlem.

5 nights Amsterdam, 4 nights Brussels or Antwerp, 3 nights Cologne. Full-day Day trips from the first two, although Duesseldorf is well regarded, I haven't been there.

Thank you all so much! One addition question for now- I will research Haarlem to consider staying there. If I did decide to stay in Amsterdam, what area is most desirable? I've learned that often staying a bit away from the most touristy areas is best and that nearby "more residential" areas are best. If we stay in Amsterdam, I'd like to be able to walk easily to the main sites. Where do you suggest looking for lodging? We have had great experiences with AirBNB in the past and might go that route.

I was thinking that, in Mid March, it might be possible to only pre-book our lodging in Amsterdam and "wing it" in the other areas, giving us more flexibility to stay or leave a city depending on our experience. Is this advisable?

-Lynn

Here's a good article from TripAdvisor, describing Amsterdam neighborhoods: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g188590-c156882/Amsterdam:The-Netherlands:Where.To.Stay.In.Amsterdam.html

I would suggest that being in a residential area of Amsterdam and being able to walk to the main sites are contradictory desires. A good thing about March is that you don't need air conditioning in order to close windows and keep out street noise in the busier area. I always prefer to stay in a central hotel or B&B in Amsterdam.

As a former long-term apartment resident, I refuse to patronize short-term rentals that are not an entire building of tourist suites. An unshared (i.e. no owner present) AirBnB is unfair to permanent residents of the building. Opinion.

I really enjoyed going to the Van Gogh museum on a Friday night after eating at a nearby Indonesian restaurant. I prefer staying in Amsterdam as well. If you get up early you can have the city to yourself.

For a good Amsterdam neighborhood, consider the Jordaan. It's just west of the city center and within walking distance of Anne Frank, etc. Speaking of Anne Frank, buy your tickets on line exactly two months prior to the date you want to visit. They go on sale between 8 a.m and 10 a.m. Amsterdam time, so you'll probably need to stay up late to buy them if you are in North America. Consider a night or two in Brussels--there are great art museums, great food, and a new pedestrian zone in the city center that makes everything more walkable. Because the attacks last year hurt tourism, you should be able to get great deals on lodging and you won't have to fight huge crowds.

Thank you all again. This is so helpful.

When we leave Amsterdam, we'll likely drive to Belgium. I see that Antwerp, Brussels, and Bruges are within an hour drive from each other. Which place(s) is (are) best to stay at and make a home base for a few days? For atmosphere and overall experience?

We would also like to go into Germany. The photos I see of Cologne and Dusseldorf appear to be very "city-like". We'd really like to find a smaller, quaint, more traditional German town to stay at and make day trips from there. Any suggestions for a great German experience off the beaten track within a short drive to all of the above?

-Lynn

I'm staying at PiedATerre properties on the Herengracht canal right now. This is our second stay here. Ten minute walk to groceries, thirty to museumplein through lovely streets filled with restaurants and shops. This is a residential area and I like that but also want the convenience of nearby shopping.

We have been to all of the canal houses except Het Grachtenhuis. The top three in order (in my book) are museum Van Loon, Willet-Holthuysen, and Cromhout Huis/Bibelmuseum.

Also I recommend a walking tour with either ThatDamGuide or Historywalks.eu
Yes, there are free tours but you may have many people in those groups. The above only do small group and are very good.

Everywhere on your travel list is easily accessible by train. Why drive when you can ride and admire the scenery?

As for Haarlem, the two major museums are wonderful. Town seems to close up pretty early at night for my taste and I prefer the many more attractions and hustle and bustle of Amsterdam.

I would suggest you start a new thread about going to Belgium. But there are vast number of past posts you could find on the big four cities using the Search Box at top center of this newsboard page. You will find a car to be an impediment for the big-four Belgian cities, and a parking garage expense. Also, the aisles and stalls in the modern garages are rather narrow. Weekday traffic can be just like the US, and the medieval streets are narrow, curvy, and often one-way. GPS essential.

Friends of mine went to the Netherlands, stayed in cheaper Haarlem and day tripped (daily) to Amsterdam. They didn't mind not being able to pop back to their room in the middle of the day. Good lesser museums: Maritime Museum, Portuguese Synagogue/Jewish Museum, Dutch Resistance Museum (get the audio guide).

You don't need a car in Belgium. It's easy to day trip by train. I prefer to stay in Ghent, which is between Bruges and Brussels.

I was in Cologne briefly, loved the cathedral but much of the surroundings were razed in WWII and rebuilt in "1950's ugly." You will easily fill 12 days in the Netherlands (maybe Utrecht, The Hague, Delft) and Belgium.

If you decide you would rather keep your focus for lodging in Amsterdam, I would suggest something in the following areas as being "walkable" to the main sightseeing areas: 1. Jordaan 2. de Pijp 3. De 9 Straatjes (the Nine Streets) or 4. Amsterdam's Oud West. I stayed in a hotel that was on one of the main canals in between the Jordaan and 9 Streets areas and another hotel that was much more budget in Oud West. Both areas were very convenient for walking just about everywhere and for those places that were further, each neighborhood offered a lot in terms of being able to connect to multiple forms of public transit (trams, Metro, trains to other cities in the Netherlands, etc.).

Amsterdam is not a huge city and the public transit is very efficient and covers many areas. If you find an apartment rental or a hotel/B&B in an area that is a little outside the main tourist zones or not within the main canal rings, as long as you can get to some form of public transit, it's workable. But if you want convenience to walk to sightseeing areas but have that feel of a "neighborhood" in central Amsterdam, those are the 4 areas I would recommend first.

If you can go to the Van Gogh Museum on a Friday evening when they are open late and have lectures, live music and a bar in the lobby, I highly recommend it.

I agree with Harold on trying to book early in Amsterdam if you want more choice, although I will say that I did not book until 2 weeks before my trip and was able to find a number of good deals. Just don't make the mistake some people do and feel like the only places in town to book are those found in the Rick Steves' guidebook, because those fill up early and fast with other readers. Do your homework, read reviews carefully and you will find other options that are equally appealing.

I also agree with Harold that I found Antwerp more interesting as a base although it's not everyone's cup of tea and more people on the board tend to suggest Bruges. Bruges was ok and pretty, but if you are staying in Amsterdam, it could feel like an overload on staying in cities with canals. I also found it a bit dull in Bruges in the evenings - pretty to walk around, but not much going on after hours. I thought the mix of culture, food, fashion, art and nightlife in Antwerp was great. In Brussels, I loved the museum of musical instruments (MIM). Regardless which Belgian city you choose to base in, the others are all easy to reach via commuter rail if you want to take some day trips.

OP given what you write in your last post Cologne probably won't be for you. I liked it on the first two trips that were just day long stopovers, but didn't love it the third visit when we booked three nights. It's a fairly gruff industrial town at its core, not a bad place but not the best you could do. I think your instinct for a cozier, smaller German city is a good one.

That said you can very easily enjoy a 3 hour stop in Cologne - see the cathedral and old city and have lunch outside on a square. You could make triangular trip AMS to BRU - Koblenz/Rhine/Mosel to see some castles and cute small towns