Paris, Benelux and Rhine

The most scenic spot in the Rhine gorge is probably St. Goar. It's a good spot for outings to the villages of Bacharach to the south, Boppard to the north, and to Braubach (ferry across at St. Goar and drive north) for Marksburg Castle. It's also not far from there for an outing to Burg Eltz and Cochem on the Mosel River. With a car, you may wish to stay in St. Goar-Biebernheim, a "suburb" atop the Rhine cliffs and close to Rheinfels Castle. You can take walks out to the cliffside for some magnificent views of the river or for walks along the cliffside trails. Apartments are available there: http://www.st-goar.de/586-1-fewos.html

Parking is not easy in either Brugge or (especially!!!!) in Amsterdam. I know that was not your question but it IS important. Gare du Nord is really easy to get to Brugge by train, one change at most, often Lille or sometimes Brussels. For the Rhine, we like Baden Baden for the Baths.

For the Rhine, I like a stop in Koln (plus Bonn if you have time), then up to Bacharach/St. Goar area with the KD boat ride between the two (downstream if you want to save time, upstream if you want "more" for your money). You should consider open jaw return from Frankfurt, I'd be surprised if it cost more than roundtrip to Paris - plus you save on backtracking. I would also plan some time in Wurtzburg before going to Frankfurt. It's my favorite Romantic Road city and has a a lot more to offer than the other RR towns that are much smaller. For places to stay, have you considered Pensions? The quality is consistently high in Germany although you may have to use a bathroom down the hall (usually a sink and mirror is in your room).

Yes! I'm finally one-up on Nigel (well partially, maybe). There's always parking at Brugge at the train station. Somebody said there's a free bus to the middle, but we just walk - - maybe half a mile. Amsterdam is a stinker. Parking costs almost as much as a hotel room. What we do is drop the junk at the hotel, then I go park just on the sw side of the Weesp tram stop. The ride back in to Centraal takes about fifteen minutes. That ends my knowledge of the trams since I just walk the rest of the way, but they seem to run all over town and shouldn't be hard to hive out. Now, I think you mean go UP the Rhine (north) and then cut over toward Paris since you're coming from Amsterdam. You'll probably be tempted to come up out of the gorge around Bingen. A year ago they had whatever that freeway is that parallels the river on the high ground to the west all torn up with few entrance ramps remaining. I was back that way a couple of months ago and it seemed much the same. You have to almost feel your way out by braille. If your heart's set on Bingen, fine, but the only way I can explain to get out of there is to press on on toward Mainz maybe five miles and then head sw (I know, the wrong way), then feel your way another ten miles to pick up the main roads. It's a mess to do. I've had two GPSs trying to come in and out of Bingen and neither one had the faintest idea what was going on. Nor are the signs in the right place. Feel for high ground and pray the sun gives you and idea of direction is all I can offer. An easier way is to back-track to Bacharach (10 mi?) and come up out of the gorge there. From there head sort of south to Hwy 63 which will dump you onto the E50 which goes all the way into Paris.

If Lee stumbles along, he'll have better ideas of gorge towns for spending the night. We don't exactly agree, but his ideas are better - - if I try to parrot him, I'll get it wrong.

Thanks so much for the help! Luckily we got an apartment in the Jordaan that has free parking included with the three nights stay. Same with the Brugge B&B. Though it is a little out from the center, there is a bus stop right out front that goes into the center in about 15 minutes, accordign to the B&B hosts. I have some better ideas now on where to stay for the Rhine. Unfortunately, We only have the two nights along there and then have to hed back to Paris. I wish I could leave out of Frankfurt, but I have to return the car in Paris and we got our flights using frequent flyer miles so it is too late to change them now. Good idea, though (might have to look into changing the return sicne it might only be a $100 change fee). Hope Ed wanders around. I would love to get his ideas on places to stay in the Rhine.

Lee has to wander around. Ed's the dumb one.

Just stumbled in here. In 2004 I spent 5 nights in a Privatzimmer (room in a private home) for €25/nt in Boppard, just one street above the Bahnhof in Boppard. I don't know if the young couple (30ish) there were patronizing me, but I never heard a word of English (I considered that a plus), even though we had some converstations about places to see. A few blocks toward the river is the Rheinallee, a row of nice hotels in front of a river walk. There is a Best Western there (Belleview), but I was most impressed with the Rheinlust. I thought it would be more expensive than the Belleview, but it wasn't. If I were to stay in Bacharach, I think I would prefer Im Malerwinkel. It's away from the rail traffic, but not a climb. There are a lot of reasonable places near the market square and boat dock in St. Goar. Next time I go back, I think I will stay under the Markburg, in Braubach, at Weinhaus Wieghardt, a cute little Gasthaus in the town square. I had lunch there in 2004, and liked it, and, thinking of recommending it, asked the hostess if she could speak English and if she ever had English speaking guests. She answered "yes', and "last week", but in German, so I don't know whether to recommend it.

My suggestion is from Amsterdam, head down to Koblenz, Germany, then head westward and hit a few stunningly beautiful towns with castles along the Mosel as an alternative to going further down the Rhine. You can stop in any of the towns for the night, along with Trier and Luxembourg. This also heads you the right direction for getting back to Paris. Stay the night in Metz, France. There's a cathedral with Chagall windows plus it's a very cute town with an awesome antique market.

I agree, it is well worth seeing Metz, a very nice and interesting city with plenty to see (cathedral St Etienne, beaubourg museum, st symphorien island lake, the new temple (le temple neuf : especially at night with the lights on), st pierre aux nonnains church (the oldest church in France dating back from Vth Century!), the theater, the bridges, the old city and so much more.

Cars are great and so are trains, so why not take advantage of each. Use the car to drive through the countryside and the train to avoid city traffic. Amsterdam has an excellent Park and Ride system that is secure and inexpensive. There is a direct train connection to the center of the city, where you can catch a tram or cab to the more scenic parts of the city. Google Amsterdam Park and Ride and you will find all the information you need. If you have time for more than a quick drive-through on the Rhein, trains provide a great way to avoid traffic congestion and parking problems in cities like Bonn and Cologne (and Koblenz at rush hour). I prefer to stay in smaller, less touristy towns (such as Sinzig, north of Koblenz) drive to a station and take the train into the cities and back. If you are uncomfortable buying tickets from a machine, drive on to the nearest town with a manned station.

Lisa, as much as I love the Rhine River Valley I have to agree with Kathy. For practical purposes I would drive along the Mosel. You have to head in the direction of Paris anyway. Pick a small town or two along the way. Trier would be a good choice. Good Luck!

Look at a map. Koblenz to Bingen to Paris is fifty more miles than Koblenz to Paris. Drive both routes. Staying down in the Mosel valley as far as the Saar makes that route three hours longer. It's hard to offer alternatives if you haven't done both. It's the op's trip. She didn't ask about other rivers.

Roy's idea of park and ride is probably better than what we did. We parked under the Olympic Stadium. The parking is secure (and not as expensive as lodging). It's not hard to pick up a tram into downtown from the Stadium.