Amsterdam and/or Brussels??

A good guide book such as Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels, will answer most of your questions. Also watch the travel DVDs for that area. We don't have enough room here to write a guide book for you.

Mariann, I would also recommend Bruges for at least one night (preferably two). It's a beautiful city! I was there last fall, but wasn't as enamored by Ghent (opinions vary, so that was just my preference). You might find it very helpful to pack along a copy of the Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges Guidebook (also available in E-book format). Will you be travelling elsewhere besides Amsterdam and Belgium? If this is your first trip to Europe, be sure to do some research on "Rail Skills", as that will make things a bit easier to get around. Be vigilant for scams, especially in Brussel Central station. Be sure to wear a Money Belt! Happy travels!

You can see a lot in Amsterdam in 4 days. You may want to add days to do day tours to Delft, or other areas in Netherlands from Amsterdam. I enjoyed Bruges for a day.

Thanks Brian I'll do that. Frank, thanks for your suggestion also but was that last sentence really necessary.

I'd recommend staying in Amsterdam for 4 or 5 days. There's a lot to see and you might want to include down time such as walking along the canals. Since you haven't booked accommodations yet, you could consider overnights in other cities - Bruges and Ghent are great places to visit. Brussels isn't that interesting, in my opinion. As far as places to stay in Amsterdam, I can recommend the Quentin Arrive Hotel and Frederic Rent-A-Bike. Frederic has a number of properties and I stayed at Frederic's Parents' Place. QAH and FPP are in the Jordaan neighborhood, my favorite in the city, and are 5 and 10 minutes' walking distance from Centraal Station, respectively. Are you a single traveler? Amsterdam is expensive so be prepared for hotel sticker shock.

Thank you Sarah, I'm a senior citizen (70) travelling alone but I understand that they don't gives us only discounts. Hope it's not too expensive.

Hi Ken, Good advice. Now that I'm retired I'd like to travel so I was only going to stay in Amsterdam and the area then I thought I would go to Brussels too. I usually cruise and this is my first time in this area. I thought I could see Amsterdam and do day trip to see the surranding area but now it seems I should think of staying in Bruges as well. Thanks to all of you for your help. Guide books are great but by the time they are written, edited, published and distributed a fair amount of time has past and things change. That is why I tried this forum because you all would have current experience. Thank you again.

You should seriously consider the once-in-a-decade Floriade (a worldwide exhibition of flowers, gardening and ornamental plans from all over the World) in Venlo as an easy (train) day-trip. You could also spend one day visiting the Kinderdij Windmill Park. With 5 days, chances of you getting at least one good weather day increases dramatically.

You could spend several nights in The Hague as a base to visit other towns in the Netherlands - Delft, Rotterdam, Leiden, for instance, are closer to The Hague than to Amsterdam and hotels are significantly less expensive there. It's about the same travel time from The Hague if you decide to see the Floride.

I would also heartily recommend Bruges. Great museums and squares, + a Michelangelo Madonna. I also loved Ghent, but its arguably major sight, "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" is undergoing restoration, still viewable but in a museum environment, not in the church (which is the best place to see it). Within Holland, Delft is Holland's most charming town with historic churches and its porcelain factory. If art is a major driver for you, I would recommend the Hague, easy day-trip from Amsterdam, visit the Maruitshuis, a small but amazing collection of dutch masters. If you get an early start, Delft is an easy 20min tram or train trip from the Hague, so you could combine them. This might sound a little hurried, but if you consider how much train time you will spend back-and-forth to Brussels, it might be worth thinking about.
If you spend a night in the Hague or Delft you can see major sights in both cities easily, strongly recommend Hotel de Emauspoort in Delft for a charming Holland experience.

Mariann, "Guide books are great but by the time they are written, edited, published and distributed a fair amount of time has past and things change" Actually, the RS Guidebooks are up-dated every year, so the information is always reasonably current. Guidebooks for the following year usually start to appear about September or October, and roll out from then. In addition, there's a "Guidebook Up-dates" section on the website, so any changes will be easily available. There are now E-book versions of most of the Guidebooks, but those tend to be released about three months behind the paper versions. Cheers!

Not all of Rick's guidebook are updated every year. For example his Holland/Begum and Switzerland books only get new editions every two years.

I will be solo-traveling in September and will be staying in Delfts & day-tripping from there into Amsterdam & surrounding areas. I have five days in-between Paris & Amsterdam, so am going to watch this thread for recommendations.