December Itinerary--France-Belgium-Netherlands

We will be in Bruges, Brussels and Amsterdam over Christmas this year as well. I am curious if the canal boats usually run this time of year (if and when the canals typically freeze over?) We love love to take the canal boat tours if possible. Thanks for any info on this.

You can take a canal taxi from Anne Frank's house to the Rijksmuseum and then from there walk to the Van Gough museum. A'Dam is an interesting city to just walk around. We loved the canals. Brugges is an awesome place.

Personally, I would mostly skip Brussels -- just hop off the train and go in for a quick visit and then head on to Bruges. Be sure to get some divine chocolate from Dumon's in Bruges. At the very least I would take one of those Brussels nights and possibly add a night in Colmar (about 30 min from Strasbourg by train). It is so quaint and beautiful -- it also has canals. It would be a shame to be so close and not get to see it.
The Van Gogh museum in Ams. is wonderful. Try the Pancake Bakery for a fun lunch or dinner for all of you.
Best wishes for a great trip!

"Personally, I would mostly skip Brussels -- just hop off the train and go in for a quick visit and then head on to Bruges." I would disagree. There is a LOT to see and do in Brussels, but unlike some other major cities, it takes a little more effort. The city doesn't jump out at you like Paris or London, but provides all kinds of interesting experiences if you do a little leg work. Bruges is definately prettier, but there's far less to see and do.

But to answer your question... your itinerary looks fine. Be aware that in northern Europe at this time of year, hours of daylight are very short, but because you'll mostly be in cities, this won't affect you too much, other than making it a little more difficult to recover from jetlag.