Low Countries
Belgium and the Netherlands
Day 1: The first day of an amazing trip to the beautiful countries of Belgium and the Netherlands starts in the wonderfully preserved Gothic city of Bruges. On this itinerary, you will be making your way from Bruges to Amsterdam via the train, so pack light. Depending on your arrival time in Bruges, drop off your luggage at the hotel where you will stay the next two nights and then take a relaxing canal boat tour of the city to get your bearings. Afterwards, wander the streets admiring your favorite gables and then find a dinner spot before heading back to your hotel for the night. Day 2: After breakfast, begin your busy day in the heart of the city at Market Square and Burg Square, so you can get some good pictures before the crowds arrive and then climb the slightly leaning, but beautiful, Bell Tower as soon as it opens and before the long line forms. After descending the Bell Tower, make quick visits to the nearby Basilica of the Holy Blood and city hall before moving on to the Groeninge Museum and its famous early Flemish art. After a quick lunch, enter the Church of Our Lady for a look at Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child and then end the afternoon admiring more early Flemish art in the Memling Museum, which, being housed in a former hospital ward, also offers exhibits on medieval medical practices. After dinner, take one last stroll in the medieval old town savoring each canal view, cobbled lane, and gabled building. Day 3: Today is a busy day, so awake early, pack your bags, have a filling breakfast, and board the train for the short ride to Ghent. When arriving at Ghent, put your luggage in a locker (hopefully you packed light) and take the thirty-minute walk into the old town or use public transportation. Your first stop should be the St. Michael’s Bridge for great city views. From the bridge walk through the Korenmarkt, make a quick stop at St. Nicholas’ Church, ascend the belfry for good view of the city, walk through St. Bavo’s Square, and then enter the Cathedral of St. Bavo for a look at its famous altarpiece. Afterwards, get some lunch and then, if time permits, visit the Castle of the Counts and the Fine Arts Museum before boarding the train for the 2.5-hour ride to Delft, where you will spend the night. Day 4: After breakfast, get an early start and visit both the New Church, where William I and most of the House of Orange are buried, and the leaning Old Church. If heights aren’t a problem for you, walk up the 376 steps in the New Church to the top of the tower for amazing views of the city and countryside. Next, visit the nearby Prisenhof Museum to learn more about William I and the creation of the Dutch Republic. After lunch, take a short train ride to Leiden for a quick visit to the charming Windmill Museum, and if you have time, wander the streets of this quaint university town before getting back on the train to Haarlem, where you will stay for the next five nights. For dinner, consider an Indonesian Rijsttafel meal. Day 5: After a good Dutch breakfast, walk to the Grote Markt Square, where ten different streets radiate out from the center. Not much in this square has changed for the last 700 years, so take some time to walk around and admire the architecture, including the Town Hall and Meat Market, before stepping into the impressive Gothic church to see Holland’s grandest pipe organ. Afterwards, walk down one of the ten streets from the square (Barteljorisstraat) to the tiny Corrie ten Boom House from the famed book and movie The Hiding Place. Many find this small house just as moving as the Anne Frank House, so make sure to get here at opening time to ensure you get in to hear the story and tour the home where the ten Boom family heroically did their best to hide Dutch Jews from the Nazis. After lunch, take a walk across town to the Frans Hals Museum and spend your afternoon viewing the Impressionist masterpieces of Haarlem’s most famous former resident. Next, walk to the De Adriaan Windmill for a nice photo opportunity of a canal-side windmill and consider a visit if it is open and you haven’t had your fill of windmills. In the evening, find a good dinner spot before retiring to your hotel for the night. Day 6: Today is all about the Dutch appreciation for bulb flowers, so hopefully you have planned your visit during the two months of spring when the magnificent Keukenhof gardens are open. If not, you can skip this day on the itinerary or consider a visit to the FloraHolland Aalsmeer Flower Auction. From Haarlem, a public bus will take you within sight of the front entrance to Keukenhof, where you will need to walk the rest of the way. The gardens are sprawling, but relax and take your time as you have all day to enjoy the sights and smells. Besides the ubiquitous tulips in all their varieties, there many other flowers to admire in the beautifully manicured landscapes. When your feet tell you that you have seen all you need to see, walk back to the bus stop and take the bus back to Haarlem for the night. Day 7: On your first of two days of sightseeing in Amsterdam, make sure to eat a hearty breakfast and get an early start, taking the short train ride from Haarlem and then walking through the city of canals to Dam Square. Near the square, tour the lavishly decorated Royal Palace and afterwards take a stroll down Kalverstraat (a pedestrian street) to the De Papegaai hidden Catholic Church. This church served Catholics when Protestants controlled the city and drove other worship underground. Next, continue your walk down Kalverstraat to the Amsterdam Museum to learn more about the rise of this powerful but tolerant city. When you finish your self-guided tour of the museum, continue walking a short distance down Kalverstraat and then take a right turn on Begijnensteeg to the quiet Begijnhof courtyard where a lay order of single women have lived a simple life for centuries in peaceful seclusion dedicating their lives to God. In the courtyard, make sure to visit another hidden Catholic Church as well as an Anglican Church where fleeing Pilgrims worshiped before their flight to North America aboard the Mayflower, which is depicted on a stained glass window inside the church. After a late lunch in nearby Spui Square, take a restful canal boat tour (there is a location at the corner of Spui and Rokin streets) and then make your way to the flower market, where vendors hock tulips and many other varieties of flowers and bulbs. Conclude your day in Amsterdam making your way to the Dutch Resistance Museum to see how brave Dutch patriots fought the Nazis in the Second World War. After the moving exhibit, find a dinner spot and then rest your tired feet by taking public transportation back to the Central Station for the short ride back to Haarlem. Day 8: On your last day of sightseeing, take the train to Amsterdam and then a tram to the Rijksmuseum, one of the best art museums in Europe. Make the Dutch masters collection your priority in the famous museum and then get some lunch. In the afternoon, visit the nearby Van Gogh Museum and spend a few hours learning more about the tortured Dutch genius and his creative style. After a quick bite for dinner, visit the Anne Frank House for a moving tour of the house where the Anne and her family hid from the Nazis. After a very full day, take the train back to Haarlem for the night. Day 9: After eight wonderful days touring these flat but amazing countries, it is time for your return flight home, where you will forever cherish the special memories made in the Low Countries. |