Europe 1st trip Amsterdam Brugge Paris

Just one opinion, but I think that's a great first trip and I wouldn't change your itinerary one bit. Those are 3 great places & you'll have a terrific time.

In Amsterdam, I'd recommend a half a day trip to Volendam. It's a nice harbor village where you can watch old fishing boats and get a picture taken wearing traditional Dutch garb and wooden shoes. It's probably about 20 minutes by bus from Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Don't change a thing. Do it!

Thank you for all the quick responses!

kurt,

I agree with the others - that sounds like a fantastic first trip to Europe! All of the locations are relatively close, so your travel times between cities will be short.

As this is your first trip to Europe, you may want to have a look through Europe Through The Back Door, especially the chapter on "Rail skills". Using the trains can be a bit confusing at first, so it's a good idea to do a bit of research on that. You should be able to find a copy at your local Library or book stores.

I'm assuming your visit to Paris will include some of the famous Museums? A Paris Museum Pass would probably be a good idea, as it will at least minimize the time waiting in queues. Also, I'd suggest focusing on specific parts of the Louvre, as it's HUGE and I wouldn't bother trying to see all the wings on one visit.

The Paris Metro is very easy to use for getting around the city.

Good luck with your planning!

As the others have said, this sounds perfect. We did the same trip but added on London. We loved all of the cities. Brugge is darling. Rent a bike and ride out to the windmills...we did that, so fun. Definitely don't need more than two days in Brugge though. One of our highlights in Paris was doing the night time Fat Tire Bike Tour...so amazing!! We have told all of our friends to do it too and everyone has always been so glad they did. Enjoy!!

I did this trip 2 years ago. It is a fine, fantastic first trip. We did 3-2-4 days in each city. I could have used an extra day in Paris.
Have fun.

Hi Kurt,
I agree with most of the suggestions. If one of the three days in Amsterdam is the day of arrival, be sure to use it; don't nap. If you think that the first day in Amsterdam will be compromised, I would probably take one of the two Bruges days and use it in Amsterdam. Bruges is charming, but it is very small; there is much more to see in Amsterdam. My other recommendation is for places to stay. I have found tripadvisor.com to be invaluable, much more so than any of the travel books.

Very similar to our last trip...and it was perfect! Flew into Amsterdam nonstop from SFO and stayed awake (nice day for a canal cruise)and got on their clock. 3 days then off to Brugge by train...very easy and loved every second in this city. Train to Paris for 5 days of museums, restaurants...just use the Metro, you'll have a blast.
Recommend the Hotel Heritage in Brugge and the American Hotel in Amsterdam for excellent locations and service.

Kurt, if you're going in April/early May you might consider a side trip to Keukenhof, easily reached from Amsterdam and can be done in half a day. It's a beautiful park with mature trees just leafing out that time of year, exhibiting Holland's finest tulips, daffodils and other spring flowers in gorgeous plantings, as you may know. I would not bother with a tour and I would go early, since it gets crowded. I've been twice and plan to go again.

In Bruge, if you want to splurge on a meal you will never forget, make reservations at De Karmeliet (and bring appropriate dress clothes).