Europe trip -- where to go?

[Paul-Antwerp]

Thanks so much for the beer tips, MishB! Also yes Prague is quite far from Belgium and Netherlands.... Decision, decisions!

Seriously, you have plenty to see in just these two countries!

Amsterdam: 3-4 days
Hague: 1 day
Rotterdam: 1-2 days
Brussels: 2-3 days
Ghent: 1 days
Bruges: 2 days
Ghent: 1 day

Instead of flying around and spending time in transit, why not take it a little slow and enjoy the feel of these two countries? Your interests seem very aligned to myself and my husband's. The best part of a city is to walk around, take in the culture, eat and drink and sit around people watch. Add in a few historic sights, museums and shopping. I know plenty of people want to maximize their vacations, but checking off cities is hardly fun. I know many who do Provence, for instance, in 2-3 days. We spent just over two weeks and we still had much more to see and do. But we definitely did have a great understanding of life in that part of the world.

As a local, I am with Kama on this, but would slightly adapt recommendations.

Skip Brussels, or keep it to 1 day, and although I know Americans and Asians love Bruges, I regard it as an overrated tourist-spot. You have to visit, but 1 day will probably do.

Instead, add Ypres (nearby) for a 1-day-visit, and experience 100 years after the start of World-War I, the misery of war and the revival afterwards. Then, add Lille, as a French major city with Flemish history. You will enjoy.

Finally, this is a diamond-forum, isn't it? And nobody realizing that Antwerp is smack in the middle of all these cities, and definitely worth a 1 or 2-day-visit, at least?

Live long,

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I had been interested in Lille so I will keep it on the shortlist. We will probably shorten our Brussels/Bruges stay and may either wander around the north of France or else spend a few days as a side trip in Copenhagen.

As for diamond shopping in Antwerp, is it actually any good for the retail consumer? I live in Hong Kong which is a regional jewelry hub however the retail choices are not that great (and I am planning to go to the trade show in September anyway); I figured Antwerp and Amsterdam would be tourist traps in terms of retail. If I were to look at diamonds I would be looking at OEC or vintage cuts anyway, it seems at least from online shops that the US is better for that. (caveat: I am normally a CS person so my knowledge/experience of buying diamonds is somewhat limited.)

Not suggesting diamond-shopping in Antwerp, but visiting our city. We have fashion, museums of all kinds, history, great restaurants and great pubs, not to mention special arts-festivals during the summer-months.

And we are halfway between Amsterdam and Bruges/Lille.

Live long,

 

[AGBF]

I have not been to Europe in many, many years and do not even have a valid passport. My question is, must you go in August? Are you tied to the school calendar? I hate Europe in July and August. In fact, I have come to hate southern Europe even in May and June. I find that the heat is recently sometimes unbearable, which it wasn't in the past. Unless you know of cool spots (due to high elevation or being an island with winds), I would want to avoid Europe in August if possible! I do not know Scandinavia at all, however. That area may be an exception?

Deb/AGBF

 

[kama_s]

Thanks so much for the beer tips, MishB! Also yes Prague is quite far from Belgium and Netherlands.... Decision, decisions!

Seriously, you have plenty to see in just these two countries!

Amsterdam: 3-4 days
Hague: 1 day
Rotterdam: 1-2 days
Brussels: 2-3 days
Ghent: 1 days
Bruges: 2 days
Ghent: 1 day

Instead of flying around and spending time in transit, why not take it a little slow and enjoy the feel of these two countries? Your interests seem very aligned to myself and my husband's. The best part of a city is to walk around, take in the culture, eat and drink and sit around people watch. Add in a few historic sights, museums and shopping. I know plenty of people want to maximize their vacations, but checking off cities is hardly fun. I know many who do Provence, for instance, in 2-3 days. We spent just over two weeks and we still had much more to see and do. But we definitely did have a great understanding of life in that part of the world.

As a local, I am with Kama on this, but would slightly adapt recommendations.

Skip Brussels, or keep it to 1 day, and although I know Americans and Asians love Bruges, I regard it as an overrated tourist-spot. You have to visit, but 1 day will probably do.

Instead, add Ypres (nearby) for a 1-day-visit, and experience 100 years after the start of World-War I, the misery of war and the revival afterwards. Then, add Lille, as a French major city with Flemish history. You will enjoy.

Finally, this is a diamond-forum, isn't it? And nobody realizing that Antwerp is smack in the middle of all these cities, and definitely worth a 1 or 2-day-visit, at least?

Live long,

I was totally going to add Antwerp, as I was WAY TOO excited to visit the city. But I was markedly disappointed as I was hoping for diamond paved roads and that was not what I found, haha. The streetcar system is so cool though.

 

[blackprophet]

Copenhagen is lovely, very compact with lots to see, Tivoli, canals, great bars (with beer, though probably very expensive!), palaces, Little Mermaid etc etc. The restaurants are very diverse too. Should think the weather will be OK in August, that's pretty much their high summer.

Ditto this - love Denmark. It felt young, fresh & fun to me - but I haven't been in several years.

+2

Copenhagen was my favourite city in Europe. Such a diverse set of things to see and do there. All of Scandinavia is expensive. But if you think Copenhagen is expensive, you need to visit Oslo!

Never been to Prague, but I have also had people recommend it over Paris. I loved Paris, so I'm pretty skeptical about that.

 

[AGBF]

Copenhagen is lovely, very compact with lots to see, Tivoli, canals, great bars (with beer, though probably very expensive!), palaces, Little Mermaid etc etc. The restaurants are very diverse too. Should think the weather will be OK in August, that's pretty much their high summer.

Ditto this - love Denmark. It felt young, fresh & fun to me - but I haven't been in several years.

+2

Copenhagen was my favourite city in Europe. Such a diverse set of things to see and do there. All of Scandinavia is expensive. But if you think Copenhagen is expensive, you need to visit Oslo!

Never been to Prague, but I have also had people recommend it over Paris. I loved Paris, so I'm pretty skeptical about that.

Umm...how's the weather there, blackprophet? The summer weather?

Deb

 

[mochiko42]

Thanks so much for all the recommendations. I will gather them all and discuss with DH.

Deb, you are right. Summer heat and crowds can be terrible. But any heat and crowds in Europe will be nothing compared to the heat and crowds where I live.

 

[blackprophet]

Copenhagen is lovely, very compact with lots to see, Tivoli, canals, great bars (with beer, though probably very expensive!), palaces, Little Mermaid etc etc. The restaurants are very diverse too. Should think the weather will be OK in August, that's pretty much their high summer.

Ditto this - love Denmark. It felt young, fresh & fun to me - but I haven't been in several years.

+2

Copenhagen was my favourite city in Europe. Such a diverse set of things to see and do there. All of Scandinavia is expensive. But if you think Copenhagen is expensive, you need to visit Oslo!

Never been to Prague, but I have also had people recommend it over Paris. I loved Paris, so I'm pretty skeptical about that.

Umm...how's the weather there, blackprophet? The summer weather?

Deb

I was there in July. And it was hot enough for shorts, but it wasn't humid at all. And you are right on the water so there is a breeze. I remember wearing my jacket some days, but my cold threshold is fairly low.

All the extra sun is definately a plus as well.

 

[AGBF]

Deb, you are right. Summer heat and crowds can be terrible. But any heat and crowds in Europe will be nothing compared to the heat and crowds where I live.

I don't know where you live, but at home you probably don't feel obliged to go sightseeing outdoors every day! Where do you live?

Deb

 

[mochiko42]

Deb, you are right. Summer heat and crowds can be terrible. But any heat and crowds in Europe will be nothing compared to the heat and crowds where I live.

I don't know where you live, but at home you probably don't feel obliged to go sightseeing outdoors every day! Where do you live?

Deb

That's true! I hate crowds so I usually try to avoid the throngs of tourists in the main shopping districts here. However I loooove walking (growing up in UK we did a lot of walking on the weekends and practiced a lot of walking when going to Paris on the weekends!).

I currently live in Hong Kong (average pop density is more than 17,000 per square mile, i.e. 7+ million in about 420 sq miles, not including the 54 million tourists we had last year... ). So Europe is practically a desert island for me.

 

[OoohShiny]

How about Edinburgh?

It may be the UK but it has a definite Scottish feel to it and IMO is very relaxed. It's the only place I've been in this country that I would consider moving to, away from my current (birthplace) area.

Lots of history to see, some great shopping (although rammed when busy), some top hotels, a wide variety of decent dining and entertainment, yet it's small enough to be walkable, is not that hilly, and despite what is said about them the Scots are generally a friendly people! You can also hire a car and be somewhere remote in the blink of an eye if you really want to get away from it all