16 Days in Europe

For Amsterdam, check out the local branch of the Hermitage; effective July 1 it will be the largest art museum in the city. For nightlife head to the Boom Chicago comedy club.

Thanks so much. I will certainly go to both considering I'm there for 6 days/5 nights (looking to fill the time with as much as possible)...

The Anne Frank house in Amsterdam is cool if you're interested in Holocaust history. If you're going in the spring, I hear Giverny (outside of Paris) is beautiful.

There are local trains that run between Brussels and Bruges. It takes about 1 hour between the 2 cities, so if you really want to stay in Brussels, you can easily do Bruges as a day trip by train.

Bruges has a few museums and churches that are worthwhile and walking along the canals (or taking a boat ride on the canals) is a nice diversion, but really it's a place to go and soak up the architecture, atmosphere and sample beer by just wandering through the city.

Have you purchased a guidebook for any of the countries or cities you plan on visiting? You've saved a lot of money for this trip, so shelling out $20 for a guide is a worthwhile investment. If you don't want to buy a current guidebook, at least borrow one at the library (along with travelogue DVDs on these cities - the Globe Trekker series of DVDs is really good, as is Rick Steves - and there are lots of Travel Channel shows that have been produced on your destinations - from Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations to Samantha Brown).

If you have an iPod, go on iTunes and download the many free podcasts and free audio walking and museum tours for each city you are going to.

Time Out is a good resource for restaurants and nightclubs, but the best resource is talking with the locals in your age group once you get over there - and look in the local newspapers as well.

It could help if you are more specific about what type of suggestions you want to get on sightseeing, tours and nightclubs. Ex. you can ask for suggestions on nightclubs, and 5 people may recommend a place in Paris that has live jazz, but maybe you hate jazz and in your mind when you say nightclub it means a place where there is a DJ spinning club music. Do you want to participate in an active tour where you are riding on a bike because you are in your early 30s, or do you want to be on a large coach bus because you are in your late 60s?

Hi Tim,

I'd spend more nights in Paris (there is so much to see: museums, architecture, cathedrals, gardens, neighborhoods, monuments) and less in Amsterdam (2 days and you will have seen most everything). Instead of Brussels, check out Brugges and Ghent.

Frommers.com is useful for Paris, e.g. 1-3 day itineraries, lists of all the sights with brief overviews (and ratings). I also like the green Michelin for individual cities. They also rate the sights and give suggested itineraries. If you can find used ones, even a few years old, they will help you with planning what you want to see.

As for restaurants, tours, and nightclubs - depends so much on your price range.

Thank you so much for all your help. A few questions for Chani: You said Brugges... I am staying in Brussels (have already booked my hotel for 2 nights). Is there a train to/from Brugges from Brussels? If so, how long is the ride? What is there to see?
As far as my budget for restaurants, bars, nightclubs...The sky is the limit. I've made sure that basically anything I want while I'm over there, I get (not to sound arrigant, but just to be on the safe side, I've saved for a long time). Again, with that in mind, any suggestions?
Thanks again!!!

I am definately going to take a day trip to Brugges from Brussels.

As far as the age and what I'd be looking for...I'm a 26 y/o male, very active with the "whatever/whenever" attitude... So walking tours, loud bars with a lively crew, etc, etc... I'm looking to take in alot of the culture in each city (so if that is jazz bars or expensive restaurants, so be it - that's why I've saved for this for so long). I've gotten alot of great ideas so far. Just looking to keep expanding, so my vacation can be filled...

Ghent, a college town, is between Bruges and Brussels. Lovely medieval architecture, and canals, of course. Easy to stop there for a few hours on the way to or from Brussels. Try using the search funtions for each of these three cities.

If I had the money, I would do a Segway tour of Paris. It just sounds like so much fun.