Also, we visited Efteling with the kids during our visit to the Netherlands, and the kids loved it, especially that we visited it on a school day, so no lines and beautiful attractions / slides.

Anonymous wrote:Too much city time. Add smaller town, countryside, Loire Valley, or similar.

Besides Amsterdam you could do a day or two in The Hague, Delft, or Rotterdam. Super easy to get around by train.

Nothing interesting in the smaller towns. Kids will be bored AF. Stick to the cities and tourist attractions. Now is not the time to pretend you’re some snobby “traveler” acting like a local.

Anonymous wrote:Can you start in Switzerland? Do Switzerland to Paris to Amsterdam. If I remember correctly, the direct trains to Paris are from Geneva or Basel, not Zurich like you would assume. But it's easy enough to fly into Zurich and then train south to Lucerne or another city. When it's time to go to Paris, just take the train from Lucerne to Basel and onto Paris.

I feel like 3 nights in Amsterdam is plenty.

Drive. It’s cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4 (kids 9 and 12) travelling to Europe for the first time in Sept. We are planning an ~10/11–night trip in that has to end in Amsterdam for a family wedding.

Would you do 6 nights Paris and 4 nights Amsterdam? Or would you suggest adding a third destination, for example:

1) London 3 nights > Paris 5 nights > Amsterdam 3 nights
2) Paris 5 nights > Brussels 2 nights > Amsterdam 4 nights

Or some other combination? Suggestions appreciated.

We did Amsterdam and Paris Spring Break last year. Just two of us though, no kids.

We spend three days in Amsterdam and drove to Paris where we spend four. We stopped for a few hours in Brussels on the way down.

If I had to do it differently I might have gone via Normandy and spend a day or two there and seen, for example, the US military cemeteries and Mont Saint-Michel. But that’s out of the way (about five hours from Paris).

Pro tip: if you do this, don’t speed. I got a mail ticket for going 3 km over the speed limit in Holland.

Your plan of 6 nights Paris and 4 nights Amsterdam is perfect. You could do day trips to Versailles / Euro Disney / mont St Michel or anywhere else from Paris, and you can easily fill 2-3 days sightseeing in Amsterdam (and Netherlands is compact enough that you could visit other cities / areas for a day trip). I wouldn’t add another major city to your plan.

Bruges instead of Brussels.

These are all capital cities (besides the Hague/Amsterdam technicality), and are also the prime destinations for tourists.

Our last trip to Paris was overwhelming with all the crowds. We could hardly fit on the sidewalks. We had much more fun visiting smaller towns in the Loire Valley where we were staying for a family wedding.

I would do option 1 if your kids have not been to London or Paris yet. Amsterdam yes it’s a small city but surrounded by a ton of countryside. Be sure to rent bikes or do a bike tour.

Paris and Normandy like Bayeux for the cider and crepes and tapestry and history. Easy train ride. A couple bed and breakfasts in old chateaus.

Agree three nights in Amsterdam is enough unless you have a lot of wedding activities.

Too much city time. Add smaller town, countryside, Loire Valley, or similar.

Besides Amsterdam you could do a day or two in The Hague, Delft, or Rotterdam. Super easy to get around by train.

Can you start in Switzerland? Do Switzerland to Paris to Amsterdam. If I remember correctly, the direct trains to Paris are from Geneva or Basel, not Zurich like you would assume. But it's easy enough to fly into Zurich and then train south to Lucerne or another city. When it's time to go to Paris, just take the train from Lucerne to Basel and onto Paris.

I feel like 3 nights in Amsterdam is plenty.

I would skip Brussels and do Ghent instead.

I'd look at some non-major cities.

Family of 4 (kids 9 and 12) travelling to Europe for the first time in Sept. We are planning an ~10/11–night trip in that has to end in Amsterdam for a family wedding.

Would you do 6 nights Paris and 4 nights Amsterdam? Or would you suggest adding a third destination, for example:

1) London 3 nights > Paris 5 nights > Amsterdam 3 nights
2) Paris 5 nights > Brussels 2 nights > Amsterdam 4 nights

Or some other combination? Suggestions appreciated.