Paris and Amsterdam winter travel Feb 2-23.

My suitcase is a 2 wheeler, 19 1/2 inches tall, weighs just a little over 4 lbs. I use 3 packing cubes and one toiletries bag plus a few little ziplock bags with odds and ends like OTC meds, and all the other stuff that you end up with like 2 folding hangers. I also take a coil heater, cup, and a bag of teabags because I am a tea addict. Both of my hotels had kettles and cups but you never know.

My personal item is roughly 14x10x4, 8 liters and works for my iPad mini, my prescription meds, my charging cords and 2 charger blocks, my journal, pens, small water bottle, and my emergency support roll of Oreos. It’s a briefcase type of bag, (Tom Bihn Daylight Briefcase) and stands up easily so it’s good for letting me have room for my feet and legs under the seat in front of me. I’ve had it since 2024 and it works great for me. It weighed 5 lbs fully loaded. Plus it’s just big enough that I can put my small purse into it when boarding and they are doing the ‘absolutely only 2 items allowed’ announcement.

The only different thing I took on this trip was a collapsible 8 ounce silicone drinking cup that fit in my purse. I’m trying to do a better job staying hydrated but my purse is too small for a water bottle. And I don’t really want to tote a water bottle either. I am in museums so much that getting a drink of water is pretty easy. Amsterdam had water fountains in museums in fact and signs about don’t buy single use water bottles save the planet etc. I think it may be a coming trend in Europe. Anyway it fit in my small purse, nested my gum and mints container perfectly.

I think my time of going on trips with multiple locations might be changing. I used to do winter trips to one or two cities on my own before I started taking RS tours and I enjoyed doing it again in February. Time to do both again I think.

Observations of fellow tourists and natives in Paris and Amsterdam….lots of jeans! Straight leg, and wide leg on the younger set, not much skinny legging sort but still some of those too. Lots of boots, ankle to knee high, but still plenty of folks in all sorts of sneaks. Also noticed a fair number of very short skirts with tights on younger women. Are mini skirts making a comeback?

Another thought, the 4 wheel spinner bag is really winning the luggage market and I find they are giving me bag envy! They look so neat and tidy. My bag is not pretty and kind of saggy looking. (It’s not available anymore, it’s made by Hadaki.) But it’s only 4 lbs, 2 ounces and every spinner bag I look up is 40-50% heavier. If anyone knows of a really lightweight spinner bag, please pass it on.

Happy travels (and packing 😉) to all

It's been at least a year since I looked at one, but in the past It-brand bags were among the lightest wheeled bags on the market. They were also relatively inexpensive and not the sturdiest, so caveat emptor.

”.. and my emergency support roll of Oreos”

That made me laugh out loud, Lyndash! I love a packing post. : )

I bring a collapsible silicone cup to use in the bathroom, or if I need some caffeine with a coffee stick at a hotel with no coffeemaker in the room. I never thought about packing one in my purse, too. Thanks!

Lynda! Have you been stomping around in my brain and eavesdropping on my thoughts? I have been having the same in-my-head conversation as your pre-trip thoughts! Paris for a couple of weeks and different friend groups moving thru so no one sees me for more than a day or two, hahaha! I doubt Sergio on the hotel's front desk will notice the repetition or if he does he is too polite to comment, hahaha!

Interesting you decided to go a bit heavier. I'm sure that extra sweater was a good "weight" investment! especially with the chillier weather in Amsterdam.

I also have come to realize I'm no longer a 2-night, move, 2-night move traveler. It works really well for some, I just prefer to settle in a bit.

Thanks so much for posting! You know I always love to read packing threads and yes, my mind is always there, lol!

Glad you are home and probably in too-hot-for-me weather, hahaha! I'm celebrating because it is 50F and sunshine today!

editing to add: I also laughed at the emotional support Oreos! I watch a guy on Instagram, I think, who has a business delivering/picking up/transporting airplanes and he has to have peanut M&Ms. They're my vice too!

Bookmarked this and loved getting your list of necessities. Thank you Lyndash!

If it can’t be homemade then it’s an Oreo for me and my cookie habit. But I must say I love those French butter cookies from Normandy so they were a great substitution in Paris and then the mini stroopwaffles were consumed in Amsterdam. I started off thinking, hmm, these aren’t very good and within days I was addicted.

Lyndash, thanks for sharing your packing report. Great job with your small carry-on. I have an IT spinner that's a bit larger than yours and weighs just under 5 lbs. I found it at TJ Maxx during the COVID era for about $35. I was worried that it wouldn't survive, but it's been on multiple trips, both as a carry-on and checked, and still looks new. But, I'm always on the lookout for an even lighter bag. Every trip I tell myself I'll go bag shopping in Europe where there is more selection of lighter bags. Maybe next time.

Thanks jeanm, I just looked at It bags on their website and their hard sided spinners are all over 6 lbs. I guess the material for those can’t be made any lighter. I’ll try not to let my bag envy lead me astray and be happy with what I’ve got. My older bag is a Lipault 22” and was 5 lbs and that was so much better than my first wheeled bag from 2004 that was huge and heavy before I figured out how to pack without trying to cover every ‘what if’ possibility.

Thanks for sharing. I think you have me beat on the personal item size.

When you demanded for a chocolate croissant did you call it a chocolatine or a pain au chocolate, and how did the comptoir person react?

Avirosemail, I did indeed buy pain au chocolate, along with a few other breakfast items in Paris and Amsterdam. But I don’t think I mentioned it in my packing report? However I always used the French pronunciation in both places. No doubt with my horrible accent. I have to add I haven’t been to Paris since 2019 and it seems to me that there was more almost automatic switching to English by people in shops this trip. And in Amsterdam English usage was everywhere by everyone as soon as they heard my accented hello. I was amazed and very grateful.

Pam, it was very nice to be in two places for 10 days each. Almost luxurious. I really don’t mind the every 2 or 3 days moving that you do on RS tours, you just have a system, right? I keep most stuff in the packing cubes in the suitcase and I’m really pleased when the room comes with a convenient place to lay my suitcase flat. So this time to actually unpack everything!? Priceless!

And Sergio would have never known if I was wearing the same black turtleneck day after day because I was always walking out in my same black coat day after day. I have to confess even though I was grateful at how well my coat met the challenge of 30 degrees and frequent showers I was heartily sick of wearing it daily for 3 weeks! Of course you probably will have some good weather in October and not need to be always in a coat.

And yes it is hitting 80 here in my part of Texas and does not bode well for what is coming May through October. I like summer but it does get ridiculous here. Sigh.

Did you end up getting your extra-strength tea?

Lavandula

Lavandula, I did find Pickwick tea at Albert Heijn. And I drank that in Amsterdam. The hotel I stayed in had it as their complimentary tea but I go through 4-5 tea bags a day so I bought my own. It was pretty good, thanks for the recommendation. I shopped at AH quite a few times actually for bakery stuff and to go small portions of fruit and sandwiches.

The hotel in Paris offered Lipton yellow label, so I was glad I brought my stash of Taylor’s with me. I get a cuppa during the day when I’m out and about too. It’s always fun to see how it’s served and what tea they use etc. A couple of times in Paris it was barely hot enough water which is the worst. But c’est la vie, what can you do? Paris is worth a mass and mediocre tea. Smile and a wink.

Lyndash, it sounds like such a fantastic trip! I would kill for ten days in both of those cities. Maybe next year. I'm still working on my 2 trips this year (well, 2 1/2 if I count Seattle ( so who knows what will happen). I'm glad you like Quince. I've got my daughter hooked on it now as well, and she buys a lot of stuff from there. There's a shop in Seattle that I'm really looking forward to seeing that sounds like it has similar items and similar prices called UNIQLO.

Thanks for all the great packing information! I'm sure I'll be coming back here to re-look at it when I get ready to pack for the Christmas markets trip. And like the others, I love the idea of a stash of Oreos. I'm not an Oreo fan myself, but there are many other things that I would be happy to much on. I can't wait for the full trip report!

But it’s only 4 lbs, 2 ounces and every spinner bag I look up is 40-50% heavier. If anyone knows of a really lightweight spinner bag, please pass it on.

My Travel Pro MaxLite 5 21-inch spinner is 5 lb. 4 oz. As light as yours, but only a pound heavier. I've had it for years and I love it. Before that, I had a previous MaxLite, which was a little bit heavier. I think it's a wonderful bag.

Bookmarking this Packing report. I look forward to reading your TR!

Great packing report Lyndash! Thank you. We too agree that unpacking and staying in one location for a week or more is delightful, though I know people who love to move around and have worked out a great system that includes not really unpacking. Cold weather travel requires a bit more thought, but clearly you did it well with minimum discomfort!

I’m just back from 11 lovely nights in Paris, and have to agree that it was really nice to stay put and unpack for longer!
The last few days there, the 24-27th, the temperatures rose to 18-19 degrees C. 🥵
I had my winter parka only, and lots of warm clothes.
I ended up going out on those days wearing five sweater/t-shirt layers to start in the mornings, by late afternoon I was carrying all but the short sleeved t-shirt layer!
I was wishing I had packed sunglasses by the end.
All the blossoms were emerging and people were wearing shorts.
Just weird as it’s not even Spring until March 20th.

I do love a packing report.

Lyndash, I also prefer natural fabrics to synthetics. For base layers, I use merino wool for tops but I haven't found a bottom I like. I am using my knee-length Winter Silks but they are too short and too baggy. I tried an REI merino wool pair but also too baggy for the cost so I returned them. I thought about 32 degrees because I know a lot of folks like them but I couldn't make myself go with the synthetics. I like base layers to be snug to hold the body heat and keep out sneaky drafts.

S. J., that’s funny because the one thing I packed that I definitely didn’t need was sunglasses and Paris got nowhere near that warm 2nd to 12th of Feb. 11 to 12 c was probably the highest while I was there. But it was February so I didn’t complain. I didn’t need to layer more than 3 under my coat but I sure never felt the need to remove any. You really scored for winter travel! What did you think of the crowds or lack of?

Katiecem, for some reason wearing synthetic bottoms doesn’t bother me. Undies must be cotton but I have a nylon/poly thermal mid thigh layer that I wore everyday that doesn’t bother me at all. I also have worn full length Cuddl duds when it’s really cold and they’re ok too. But must be silk for tops, I do have some merino tees but nothing thin enough to be an under layer. I really should try to look for some really lightweight wool. And yes, they must be snug and not baggy.