Netherlands/Belgium Itinerary Suggestions

What time of year are you traveling? I only ask because Keukenhof is only open for a brief period, usually in April and early May. Only thing I would change is staying in both Haarlem and Amsterdam. Personall, I would stay in Amsterdam, and if you must see Haarlem, visit it as a daytrip.

I will be there for Keukenhof for sure. Just going to Haarlem because it appears to be easy from AMS to get over jet lag and experience the city at night. Usually our first night in Europe is a bust becasue we go to bed so early.

I would spend 2 nights in Ghent and visit Brussels for a few hours. I have been to Belgium 2 times and the longest I have spent in Brussels was 5 hours. Brussels has its place in the world but I would rather have the charm of Ghent over Brussels' city hustle any day. I liked Antwerp the least out of Belgium; 3 hours there and we couldn't wait to leave (not big Rubens' fans, it was Sunday and most everything was closed, lots of construction that made city look dirty). There may be a lot of posters that reply to your post that loved Antwerp and or Brussels, but neither was our cup of tea. We spent 5 nights in Bruges and 3 nights in Ghent for our honeymoon. Both cities have a lovey-dovey charm.

As Kelly said, there are multiple opinions on the "best" stops in Belgium. (I'm an Antwerp lover .... ) Have you calculated the train time to Bruges? I would ask you to consider whether you're going to Bruges for the art, the nightlife, or the imaginary "In Bruges" tour? Even with my wife, we didn't want more than one daylight-day there. Ghent is livelier and still has lots of art, and nicer canals. You are right to go on to Koln from Brussels. Be sure to stick your head out the door during the stop in Liege to look at the station. I question three stops by public transportation from Amsterdam in one day. I spent a day each in Alkmaar, Leiden, Delft, and Amersfoort.

Tim, talk to me about why you like Antwerp please.

Allow me to elaborate on something Tim wrote. Ghent hosts a large university population and a cluster of tech start-ups, it has a reputation of being Flanders' hippest city. It isn't as immediately pretty as Brugge- you have to move through several nondistinct blocks of a modern city to reach the historic core- but much more lively. If your age is under 35, you may want to stay in Ghent at night, as the center of Brugge is kind of dead once the sun goes down. I'm on the fence concerning Antwerp. I think it's worth seeing, but it isn't a city I find myself returning to very often. There' s some interesting stuff, like the Grote Markt, De Steen (remnants of a toll castle along the Scheldt river that now houses a maritime museum), the huge late Gothic cathedral, the zoo, and the train station alone is a work of art. Also, one of my favorite European TV shows, "Zone Stadt" takes place and is filmed there. On the other hand, being a large industrial port city, Antwerp has more than a few rough edges.

Dave, one thing I like a lot is museums, and Antwerp has a host of them. The night life is good, with everything from a red-light district to Michelin restaurants. It's very walkable, if you're in good shape, including a pedestrian foot-tunnel under the river. The Rivierenhof park is full of locals on a warm weekend, while the superb, huge outdoor sculpture garden (long bus ride from downtown) Middelheim Museum feels wide open. There are many historic churches, some now deconsecrated concert halls (like AMUZ). There are restaurants everywhere, from student-priced to overpriced. It's well-located for several day trips. I don't care for fashion clothing, but Antwerp is a design and boutique center. It's true there are ugly modern additions like the big theater, but there are a host of Art Deco sites like the Cogels Osy townhouse district. It's true that the medieval areas aren't as large as you'd like, but there are plenty of old buildings and twisty streets with a medieval feel. The Cathedral area is lively and attractive on a summer night. Alas, the big KMSKA Fine Arts museum is closed for years of renovation. My favorite smaller museum is Mayer van den Berg. I had a Rick Steves moment when I happened to be in a tiny bar on Liberation Day, and met a bunch of policemen who had just been to see their fathers' and uncles' names on the war memorial. But there are a lot of tourists in Antwerp too! Exceptional waffles and smootebollen at Desire de Lille, exceptional chocolates at Burie - both in a charming high-end shopping district.