So, I’ve bought the plane tickets - I’ll be arriving in Amsterdam on February 16th, 2013, flying back to the States at noon on the 24th. (Yes, I know it’ll be insanely cold - but it’s slightly cheaper, hotels are easier to find than in spring, and I was able to wrangle the leave for then).
I have a lot of things I’m looking forward to doing - but it occurs to me that the Teeming Millions may have suggestions of their own. (In fact, some of you actually live in Amsterdam). Lay it on me! I’m down for pretty much anything you think is cool - museums, history, local music, local bars, and so on. And I’m absolutely not staying in Amsterdam - I plan to hit Den Haag, Maastricht and Paris at a minimum, and I’m not averse to going farther afield. (I’m seriously considering a night-train to Berlin, for example).
These are the things I’ve already decided I want to see:
Selyz Dominican (Maastricht)
Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)
ICC and ICJ (Den Haag)
Louvre (Paris)
Coffeeshops! (Amsterdam)
Sigur Ros live show! (Amsterdam)
Walk through the Red Light district (Amsterdam)
Musee D’Orsay (I would highly recommend this over the Louvre, but it depends on the type of art you want to see). Definitely plan to spend at least a couple hours at the D’Orsay
Montmartre. Great walking around area, and Salvadore Dali museum
Versailles. Need to plan on most of a day, with the trains to/from and the tour itself. But very cool.
If you have the time:
Rodin museum
Notre Dame and St. Chappelle
stroll down the Champs Elysees (night preferrably, if it isn’t too cold) to the Arc De Triomphe
cruise around the Forum Des Halles area (blocks of pedestrian only traffic - lots of shops and restaurants)
Given transit to/from, your 8 days is not a whole lot of time. With all you have in Amsterdam and Paris, I would not try to squeeze in another city. It all depends on how much sleep you need
My big hint for you would be to look at night openings of museums, etc. as well as days they are closed! in order to schedule your time well. The Louvre, for instance is open until 9:45pm on Wed&Friday; The Musee d’Orsay, 9:45pm Thursday; Pompidou, every night except Tuesday till 9. That way you can do two or three museums/sites in a day. I agree with cormac262 that adding another city into your itinerary (even Versailles) is probably too much to cram in. I could see somewhere like Brussels or Antwerp for a couple of hours en route between Amsterdam and Paris.
I’m curious, you already know a lot that you want to see in the Netherlands, and you spelled The Hague the Dutch way. Do you have a particular interest in the Netherlands?
Also, no more worries about the stupid new law not letting foreigners into coffeeshops, they’re getting rid of that. Yay, and welcome
Seconding d’Orsay, and I’d also suggest the Orangerie in Paris if you’re into Monet — they also had a large Gustav Klimt exhibition on when we were there too.
You may have already considered this but just for emphasis…take the train.
February is fickle in northern Europe and your journeys are less likely to be adversely affected by weather if you travel by train.
That said, starting from Amsterdam you have a lot of options for getting to the major cities, 3 hrs to Cologne or Brussels, 3.5 to Paris, London is only another 2hrs from Paris.
I think you’re being very ambitious: you’ve only got 6 days, taking off the travel days. Is there no late flight you could take on the Friday evening? The Louvre and Versailles are a day each in themselves.
Agreed. I would take nearly a full day just to walk around Paris and get a feel for the place. Versailles really is a full day, and one that IMO was pretty tiring. I agree that the Musee D’Orsay is worth a half day, and lunch in the restaurant there is worth it.
You only have a few days, and I’m assuming that the Sigur Ros gig is cast in stone. Stay in Amsterdam, and travel the short distances by train to the other destinations in the Netherlands. Paris seems like way too much to pack into your schedule, and forget about Berlin. Unless you really really like trains.
If you make it to Maastricht, I could give you a tour of the old town.
I gave one last week to a chinese friend of my mother and realy enjoyed giving it…
and I think the Poster Maastricht had thread some time ago with cool stuff to do in Maastricht
Actually, I’ve got 8 solid days. I’m flying out of DC on the 15th, arriving in Amsterdam early on the 16th, flying home at noon on the 24th. That’s 8 full days to do my thing in Europe. Your point about not being over-ambitious is well-taken, though.
Thanks! And yes, I’m planning on traveling by train - I consider it an infinitely more civilized way to travel than air. Cheaper, too.
The spelling was just me being pretentious, I’m afraid. I’m not any kind of Netherlands wonk - I just have a lot of friends who’ve visited there and enjoyed it. Plus, I’m a lawyer - Den Haag is kind of a sacred pilgrimage for us.
Thanks for all the good advice, folks! Keep it coming!
Hahaha, hope you enjoy the pilgrimage You should definitely say Den Haag when you’re here, people will love it! Make the “g” at the end like “ch” in Scottish “loch”, like you’re choking. If you’re feeling brave try the proper name: 's Gravenhage. It’s " [apostrophe]s" because it used to be “des” (the), making it “the hedge of the count”, Den Haag is just “The Hedge”.
As you’re in Amsterdam you might want to see the Anne Frank House. It’s not spectacular or anything, in fact sort of bare… but there is something real about being there. I’ve been many times. It just brings the reality of what happened home to me.
I won’t recommend any other cities to see in the Netherlands, as you already have so many plans! So let’s stay in Amsterdam. You could take a boat tour. It’s the obvious tourist thing to do, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Try to eat some poffertjes (little pancakes), it’ll warm you up! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for ice for while you’re here, that’d be something special. People go bananas: skip work just to skate, set up stalls with hot chocolate on the ice. The Dutch love the ice.
Drink some jenever, it’ll help you pronounce 's Gravenhage! Then have some bitterballen too, yum (you don’t wanna know, eat them as a snack with beer).
Yay! Mr Excellent, if ** kitten** can’t give you a tour at an conventient time, I’m willing to step in ("m free on wednesdays and thursday afternoons and in the weekends). Why don’t you both go? I’m sure I can show even kitten some things he didn’t know yet, as I’ve worked in the past as a tourist guide.
In Maastricht, you should see: (about six hours worth of a trip, including food and rest)
-the old town, especially the Our Dear Lady church and a nice walk along the river Jeker in the town.
-indeed, the Bookstore in a Church Selexcyz
-the Roman museum cellar underneath Cafe Derlon (next to the OUr Dear lady Church)
I also recommend a daytrip to Aachen & Kologne, or a daytrip to Brughes or Ghent.
While I like Maastricht and wouldn’t want to piss off Maastricht, it is quite a trip from Amsterdam. You’d be in Antwerp, Brussels or Cologne much faster. If you do decide to go to Maastricht, make sure you have the right train wagon; half of the train leaving from Amsterdam goes to Maastricht and the other half goes to Heerlen… I think they split the train in Sittard.
In The Hague, the ICC isn’t really that interesting yet. The ICJ is worth a visit, but you often need to make a reservation for a tour if you want to see the inside of the Peace Palace. If there is a case in session (not that often), you can sit in ( Iwouldn’t recommend it as it’s boring as hell - and yes I’ve been to a few - , but then again I’m not a lawyer). Another way to get in is the (appearantly awesome) legal library, which you might be able to get acces to (as a lawyer).
There are also a bunch of international tribunals, like the Yugoslavia tribunal which is still in session (I believe). If you want museums, the best works from the Mauritshuis are now being shown in the Gemeente Museum, which is about a 5 minute drive from the Peace Palace.
For fun in the Hague, there are two main squares: Grote Markt and Plein… the second is next to parliament, so a lot of civil servants and you can often bump into well known politicians and journalists. Grote markt has more students and the like… also close to Het Paard, for your concerts and clubbing. The Hague is the best place for Indonesian food; in the center Poentjak and Garoeda (next to each other on Kneuterdijk) are household names… a bit further out of the center I would personally recommend Bogor as the best Indonesian place. Small toko’s may also be a good place to get a quick bite, for instance Dajang and Cendana). There is a small China Town in Den Haag as well and according to some Chines colleagues they are pretty authentic.
I’m flying out of DC on the 15th, arriving in Amsterdam early on the 16th, flying home at noon on the 24th. That’s 8 full days to do my thing in Europe. Your point about not being over-ambitious is well-taken, though.